Friday, September 7, 2012

Android Phone Fans

Android Phone Fans

Wikipad Now Available For Pre-Order At Gamestop – Launching Oct 31st for $500

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 06:06 PM PDT

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I’ve had mixed feelings on the Wikipad ever since it was ann0unced earlier this year. As a 10.1-inch tablet with a slew of impressive specs (Tegra 3 processor, 720p IPS display, 1GB of RAM, microSD slot), the only part about the tab that really made it special was a gamepad-like dock — and even that could have easily been manufactured for some other successful Android tab (maybe not cuz really, there are none).

As the gaming tablet has matured, it’s just now starting to come into its own (much like OUYA). Today, the Wikipad peoples showed off their final design, announcing that the tablet is now officially up for pre-order at GameStop stores nationwide and will be launching October 31st for $500.

Gamestop will further back the tablet by negotiating deals with “traditional” game publishers to bring exclusive content to the new platform. Sony has expressed their excitement for the tablet knighting the device with “PlayStation Certification” and will even bring their revitalized Gaikai streaming service — to be announced at a later date — to the Wikipad.

Still, with a seemingly bright future ahead of it, it’s tough to say if consumers will bite. The Wikipad has a lot of well established competition being offered at a much lower price. Where you can argue that the Wikipad can do more than those devices thanks to the power of Android, it will still be primarily marketed as a gaming device. What do you guys think? Any Android gamers out there? Would you guys consider picking up a Wikipad? If not, what would it take to make you pull out your wallet?

[Forbes]

Call of Duty Black Ops Zombies Finally Available For All Android Devices

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 05:08 PM PDT

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Well, I guess I should say most Android devices (there’s no such thing as 100% compatibility in Android). After finding itself locked down as an exclusive for the Sony Xperia Play, now the rest of Google’s children can partake in the undead mayhem of Call of Duty Black Ops Zombies. The first person shooter is one of a few titles offered by publisher Glu Mobile where you’ll have to pay the upfront cost of $7.

Before you get all snooty, that also means you’ll be able to enjoy a full game without having to worry about paying for in-app purchases to advance. That $7 price-tag is a reasonable amount for a game of this caliber. Once the developers add gamepad support, I’ll be downloading this in a jiffy. You can find Call of Duty Black Ops Zombies in the Google Play Store right now.

[Play Store]

Kindle Fire HD 7 Hands-on

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 04:24 PM PDT


The upgraded Kindle Fire may be enticing with a $159 price-point, but power-hungry users may need a bit more. If you are a fan of 7-inch tablets, the Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7 is your best bet. It has all the great specs that the Kindle Fire HD family members share, and comes with a very attractive $199 price tag.

The tablet features a 1280×800 7-inch display, a 1.2 GHz dual-core OMAP 4460 processor and all the new awesome features Amazon touted during the announcement. We have managed to get some hands-on time with this little guy and can tell you that it performs very well for its price, while it won’t have you flying through apps and websites.

Without further ado, here is our very own Chris giving the 7-inch Kindle Fire HD a go:

Not bad, right? Sadly, Amazon didn’t let us play around with the 8.9-inch versions of the Kindle Fire HD family, but you can expect it to be relatively similar. Save for that stunning 1920x1200p display – boy is that HD!

Either way, if this is the one for you, you can go ahead and pre-order it at Amazon.com and it should ship directly to your doorstep by November 20th.


We go hands-on with the upgraded 2012 Amazon Kindle Fire

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 04:04 PM PDT


We had a wild ride at the Amazon press conference this morning, but we managed to push through the mob and get some sweet time with some of the new devices. This one happens to be the base Kindle Fire, which is nearly identical to last year’s but with a better processor and more RAM. Amazon managed to drop the price to $159 this time around, though, making it one of the best deals around the market.

The tablet isn’t for the high-end, demanding user, but it is definitely worth the price for those looking to take care some casual tasks. Regardless, tt will be nice to get a significant upgrade for a lower price. It is hard to say no to a $159 Kindle Fire, so go and pre-order it if you want to get this one by September 14!


Beach Buggy Blitz Game Review (and 3 great Tegra 3 devices being given away tomorrow!)

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 03:39 PM PDT

Vector unit has just announced the availability of Beach Buggy Blitz, a Tegra 3-optimized title that takes advantage of the chipset’s tremendous GPU for great graphics and physics. It’s a bit of a racing game whose focus isn’t on beating others, but on self competition.

You’re placed onto a mysterious island filled with giant crabs, shiny coins, and tons of refreshing-looking water. Your objective is to see how long you can drive around the island before time expires. Will this one be worth the download or should you get your arcade racing fix elsewhere? Read on for our review.

Graphics

With this being a timed Tegra exclusive it’s safe to assume that a big focus for Vector Unit was the presentation. Lush 3D modeling and high quality textures is something we’d expected, and Beach Buggy Blitz doesn’t disappoint. It’s a visually satisfying game that’ll go toe to toe with any in the Google Play Store.

The game uses real time, dynamic shadows for your car to make you feel like you’re really watching a car traverse the sandy sides of this strange world.

A good amount of high quality foliage really gives it that island feel, racing waterfalls, a gorgeous sun, and dynamic light sources and smoke from a nearby volcano all come together to form a world that really looks as tropical as a beach should be.

Car and character models are simplistic in design but the are the most detailed models in the game. I would have preferred some depth between the ridges of the tires on the ATVs and perhaps some reflections, but that’s not a complaint that would keep me from buying this game. It’s Tegra 3 and it looks like it.

Sound

Beach Buggy Blitz lets you roll on with some fun surf-like music to get you into that beach feeling. The variety isn’t staggering, but considering you have the option of turning it off and playing something else in the background I’d say this isn’t much to worry about.

As for sound effects, the waves do roar onto the shore of the beach as you race past them. You can hear seagulls planning their next attack on someone’s unsuspecting head, the vehicle does sound like the variety it’s modeled after, and crashing into destructible objects give you that destructive satisfaction you’re listening for even if the crashing sounds are a bit over the top.

Gameplay

The game is very simple to play. It will automatically accelerate your vehicle and it’s up to you to steer and brake when you need to. You can either use tilt controls or the touch screen for steering.

I found myself not comfortable with the latter as it became too hectic trying to use the brake and steer at the same time. And I wasn’t comfortable with tilting at first, but a life-saving sensitivity setting will allow you to find a happy medium for youself.

The objective is to drive on the coast as long as you can without letting a mandatory timer expire. Littered throughout the map, which can change depending on how consistent you’re playing, are timer bonus checkpoints so you can keep your timer going, but one little mistake could be the difference between those few seconds you need to make it to the next one.

It’s especially important to stay on as long as you can so you have more opportunities to earn coins. Not unlike a coin-filled Mario game, this game allows you to collect the valuable gold pieces for use later on. Some line of coins are strategically placed on ramp jumps to force you to endure some high-flying action if you want to be rewarded.

The coins can be used to buy new vehicles, buy vehicle and track upgrades such as a speed boost or bubbles of coins worth 25,  buy new characters, and even extra life if you need a second wind before the next checkpoint.

The true incentive comes in when you realize it’s going to take a ton of coins and time to get everything. If you’re a horrible driver like I am it will take you a bit of playing time to get to even the lowest unlocks, let alone their increasingly expensive upgrades. For people who aren’t quite patient you can buy coins using in-app purchases in a level of different quantities.

While you may not like the in-app purchase route, it’s imperative to note that you can do everything in this game without spending a dime — the trade off is just that it’s going to take a lot longer.

Story

There’s no real story here: you have this buggy, you’re on this island, and your goal is to get coins and keep the timer alive. Even without a plot to pull you in the satisfaction of working toward upgrades and new cars and characters should be enough to keep people motivated to continue.

Value

Life I said above, if you’re the type of gamer that is patient enough to unlock everything without using in-app purchases this game should keep you busy enough for a while. Even if you do choose to shell out for a few coins just to get you to that next car or upgrade you will have plenty to earn the old-fashioned way.

I must warn you, though — if you plan to buy this game and buy enough coins to unlock everything right away, you’re only cheating yourself. The game has just one level, albeit a very long and beautiful one.

The limited selection of game modes means you’re going to want to close your wallet and squeeze all the value you can out of grinding for coins on the island.

There is no multiplayer, but Vector Unit does use leaderboards through the Swarm service to help you compare your high score with your friends’. You can also work toward a ton of different achievements for that added value that is definitely needed to keep this game fresh.

Verdict

Beach Buggy Blitz is an awesome title for what it is. The Tegra exclusive version is meant to show off the graphical prowess of the NVIDIA-made chipset inside, and it does take very good advantage of it. Even when I had the graphics quality set to the maximum level the framerate drop was so insignificant I barely noticed.

The driving mechanics work well for the most part, but if you’re as ambisinistrous as I am you’ll want to favor the motion controls over the touchscreen. And while I had no problem with the amount of things to unlock in the game I would have appreciated more variety. A couple of more levels and something more than a survival mode wouldn’t hurt.

The problem for most will come with in-app purchases. Unless you can get every coin and stay on the course as long as you want each time you play this is going to be a grind to get absolutely everything.

For the amount you pay you want to get as much out of it as you can, but not to the point where it’s so hard that it’s almost insulting that in-app purchases are offered as a quick handycap to get ahead. Perhaps I’m just a bad driver, but When I could only accrue 276 coins in an hour and a half and the cheapest upgrade comes in at 200 coins it’s a tad off-putting.

But at least you can’t say it’s required to purchase more content in order to go as far as you want in this game. That’s more than I can say for at least three games out there that abuse this system.

Vector Unit found a balance that works, and for that I applaud them. This studio has been one of the better ones when it comes to delivering great concoctions of gameplay, graphics, physics, and sound, and if you don’t mind the limitations I’ve listed I’d say Beach Buggy Blitz is definitely worth the free download. Yep, I just said “free.” Give it a try in the Google Play Store.

Tegra 3 Giveaway Tomorrow!

Were you unable to get in on the Nexus 7 giveaway we held a while back? Well, it’s your lucky day. Well… not yet. But tomorrow will be as we’ll be posting details on how to win one of three Tegra 3 devices that you’ll be wanting to get your hands on. There’s no way to know what exact time we’ll be posting the details, but just know that we’re definitely posting tomorrow so be sure to keep checking the site to make sure you’re able to enter!

[Update]: I should note that the contest will not be first come first serve, nor will it be a skills-based contest. There will be a time limit to enter, but as long as you enter within that limit you will have just as much of a chance as anyone else.

Watch the highlights of the Kindle Fire HD announcement here!

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 03:37 PM PDT


Amazon’s press conference has concluded with more than enough devices to keep us going for a while. We have an upgraded Kindle Fire and 3 Kindle Fire HD tablets, but of course the latter took the stage today. We knew you would want to see everything that’s going on at Santa Monica, so we have video of some of the most important announcements here! At least until they get around to uploading the official video to YouTube.

The first clip is from the Kindle Fire HD main announcement. Jeff Bezos discusses all the new improvements in features and specs, including details about the display, stereo sound, video, WiFi dual antennas and storage. Check it out:

Now, if you want to see this bad boy in action, Jeff goes on to demo the tablet right in front of our eyes. Lucky for you, we caught the whole thing on camera:

A tablet can’t reach its full potential without a good internet connection. This can be easily solved when within a WiFi connection, but can we call a tablet mobile if we can’t use it away from WiFi hotspots? This is why Amazon decided to launch the Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9 4G LTE. This tablet will allow you to take advantage of 4G LTE anywhere you are (assuming you are in a 4G LTE market) for just $50 a year!

Enjoy the videos and let us know what you think! Will these tablets be as impressive as our friend Jeff touts them to be, Or are you waiting around for something else? By the way, you can now pre-order all of these tablets, so head over to Amazon.com and get get yours!

Sprint support page says Jelly Bean for Nexus S 4G and Galaxy Nexus coming today — anyone pull it down yet?

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 01:42 PM PDT

We heard yesterday that Sprint had plans to launch Jelly Bean for their Nexus S 4G and Galaxy Nexus today, and sure enough Sprint’s support site says users should start seeing it.

But we haven’t been particularly overwhelmed by reports that users have received the upgrade. Regardless, Sprint’s support site says so and they haven’t been quick to take it down. Take a look at the tons of different changes you can expect:

  • Upgrades phone operating system to Android 4.1.1 (Jelly Bean)
    • Smoother user interface
    • Enhanced Accessibility functions
    • Bi-directional text and other language support
    • User-installable keyboard maps
    • Expandable notifications
    • Ability to turn off notifications on an application specific basis
    • Shortcuts and widgets can automatically be re-arranged or re-sized to allow new items to fit on home screens
    • Android Beam – Use Android Beam to Bluetooth transfer data
    • Offline voice dictation
    • Improved voice search
    • Improved camera application
    • Google Wallet (for the Nexus 7)
    • High resolution Google+ contact photos
    • Google Now
    • Multichannel audio
    • USB audio added for external sound Digital to Analog Conversion
    • Audio chaining also referred to as Gapless Playback.  Gapless playback is the uninterrupted playback of consecutive audio tracks
  • Discontinuing support for Adobe Flash Player:
    • Adobe will not be certifying the Adobe Flash Player for Android Mobile devices that either release with or update to Android 4.1 (Jelly Bean).
    • Devices that upgraded from Android 4.0 to Android 4.1, may exhibit unpredictable behavior, as it is not certified for use with Android 4.1.  Adobe recommends uninstalling Flash Player on devices which have been upgraded to Android 4.1.

We don’t have any Sprint Nexus devices on hand to test, but if you would like to keep us updated in the comments section below I’m sure the whole community would appreciate it. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

Release dates and prices for the updated Kindle Fire and the new Kindle Fire HD models

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 12:57 PM PDT

In case you missed it, Amazon announced four new tablets that will be available very soon. The upgraded Kindle Fire, which aesthetically is a near-identical model of last year’s release, will be launching September 14th, and for just $159 you’ll see it showing up at your doorstep. The Kindle Fire HD 7 inch will be available September 14th, as well. This is a bit beefier than the regular Fire model and will cost you $200.

Then we have the 8.9 inch versions of the Kindle Fire HD. There will be a lower cost model being introduced at $300, but a souped up 4G LTE edition will also be available for cool $500. Both models will be available starting November 20th.

All models will be available for pre-sale from Amazon’s website starting today. And although Amazon hasn’t yet put up an elaborate front-page to highlight all of today’s exciting announcements, a quick search will bring up all of the models or your pre-ordering pleasure. Let us know if you decide to bite on one. Read on for full press details.

Amazon Takes on the High-End—Introducing the New Kindle Fire HD Family

 

$199 now gets you the world's most-advanced 7" tablet, with a stunning custom HD display, the fastest Wi-Fi, exclusive Dolby audio, powerful processor and graphics engine, and 16 GB of storage—all backed by the world's best content ecosystem, the best cross-platform interoperability, and the best customer service 

 

$299 now gets you all the same advanced technology on a stunning 8.9" large-screen 1920×1200 HD display with 254 ppi and a powerful OMAP4 4470 processor and graphics engine

 

$499 now gets you the same high-end large-screen HD tablet, 32 GB of storage, plus ultra-fast 4G LTE wireless powered by the latest generation 4G chipset, and Amazon's groundbreaking $49.99 one year 4G LTE data package—customers save hundreds of dollars in the first year compared to other 4G tablets

 

New inventions exclusively on the new family of Kindle Fire devices—X-Ray for Movies, X-Ray for Textbooks, Immersion Reading, Whispersync for Voice, Whispersync for Games, and Kindle FreeTime

 

SEATTLE—September 6, 2012—(NASDAQ: AMZN)—Less than one year ago, Amazon introduced Kindle Fire—combining 15 years of innovation into a fully-integrated, end-to-end service for customers.  Kindle Fire quickly became the most successful product launch in the history of Amazon.com, earning over 10,000 5-star customer reviews, remaining the #1 best-selling product across the millions of items available on Amazon since its introduction, and capturing 22% of U.S. tablet sales in just nine months.  Today, Amazon is excited to announce that it's taking on the high-end with Kindle Fire HD—the next generation of Kindle Fire.

 

The Kindle Fire HD family—the most-advanced tablets:

-          Ultra-fast 4G LTE wireless, powered by the latest generation 4G chipset, support for all 10 4G bands, and Amazon's breakthrough 4G LTE data package—customers save hundreds of dollars in the first year compared to other 4G tablets.

-          Stunning custom HD display with in-plane switching, Advanced True Wide polarizing filter and custom laminated touch sensor for 25% less glare with rich color and deep contrast from any viewing angle.

-          Fastest Wi-Fi of any tablet—dual antenna, dual-band, and MIMO—40% faster downloads and streaming compared to the next fastest tablet.

-          High-performance processor and graphics engine for snappy and smooth performance.

-          Dual stereo speakers with Dolby Digital Plus audio—the standard in high-end audio—available for the first time on a tablet.

-          Kindle Fire HD starts with 16 GB of local storage, enough to accommodate the larger file sizes of HD content.

-          Exceptional battery life—7" Kindle Fire HD gets 11 hours of battery life.

-          Front-facing HD camera with custom Skype application for video calling from anywhere in the world.

-          New Amazon-exclusive features like X-Ray for Movies, X-Ray for Textbooks, Immersion Reading, Whispersync for Voice, Whispersync for Games, and Kindle FreeTime.

-          World's best content ecosystem—over 22 million movies, TV shows, songs, apps, games, books, audiobooks and magazines.

-          Best cross-platform interoperability, with Amazon apps available on the largest number of devices and platforms so customers can access content anytime, anywhere.

-          Amazon's top-rated, world-class customer service.

 

Amazon is also introducing an all-new upgraded version of the best-selling standard definition Kindle Fire with a faster processor, twice the memory and longer battery life—all for an even lower breakthrough price—only $159.  Meet the all-new Kindle Fire family atwww.amazon.com/kindlefirehd.

 

"We're taking on the most popular price point for a tablet, $499, but doubling the storage and incredibly, adding ultra-fast 4G LTE wireless," said Jeff Bezos, Amazon.com Founder and CEO.  "Kindle Fire HD is not only the most-advanced hardware, it's also a service.  When combined with our enormous content ecosystem, unmatched cross-platform interoperability and standard-setting customer service, we hope people will agree that Kindle Fire HD is the best high-end tablet anywhere, at any price."

 

The Best Hardware

Stunning Custom HD Display

The 8.9" display on Kindle Fire HD features an incredible 254 pixels per inch with a resolution of 1920×1200, with pixels that are indistinguishable to the human eye.  The 7" Kindle Fire HD features a stunning HD display with 1280×800 resolution that delivers deep, detailed contrast and rich, natural color.  Kindle Fire HD also uses Gorilla Glass to provide superior strength and reliability.  Kindle Fire HD starts with excellent resolution, but that is only the beginning—Amazon also added custom features that reduce glare and improve color saturation at any viewing angle.

 

Most tablet displays are made up of two pieces of glass—an LCD on the bottom and a touch sensor on the top, separated by an air gap. This air gap allows light to come through the touch sensor and reflect off the LCD, which causes added glare for the user.  Fire HD solves this air gap problem by laminating the touch sensor and the LCD together into a single layer of glass, creating a display that is easy to view even in overhead light, and reducing glare by 25% relative to the latest generation iPad.

 

Like many tablets, Kindle Fire HD uses in-plane switching (IPS) to improve color reproduction. But displays that only use IPS still appear washed out at various angles, such as laid sideways in bed, flat on a table, or propped up in a case. Fire HD features an Advanced True Wide polarizing filter that is applied directly to the LCD panel.  This results in a display that shows the same deep contrast and rich, detailed color from any angle.

 

High-End Laptop-Quality Wi-Fi—40% Faster Downloads and High-Speed Streaming

HD content has much larger file sizes than standard definition content—for example, Marvel's The Avengers in standard definition is 785 MB, but in HD, The Avengers is 2.97 GB.  Files of this size require the very latest in Wi-Fi technology to download or stream the HD content quickly and reliably—anything else results in buffering, slow downloads and dropped connections.  Many Wi-Fi enabled devices only use the 2.4 GHz wireless frequency.  This frequency is crowded since it is used by everything from other tablets to microwave ovens, baby monitors, Bluetooth devices, not to mention the neighbors' Wi-Fi networks.  Kindle Fire HD circumvents this congestion with state-of-the-art dual-band Wi-Fi.  Kindle Fire HD can automatically switch between the 2.4 GHz network and the newer, less crowded  5 GHz network, resulting in better range and less interference.  In addition, dual antennas and Multiple In/Multiple Out (MIMO) allow for higher bandwidth and longer range.  The new Kindle Fire HD is the first tablet to market with all three of these latest generation Wi-Fi technologies—dual-band support, dual antennas, and MIMO.  This is the first time this state-of-the-art Wi-Fi technology has been offered in a tablet, resulting in 40% faster throughput compared to the latest generation iPad.

 

Latest Generation 4G LTE Wireless

The large-screen Kindle Fire HD is also available with ultra-fast 4G LTE, with download speeds as fast as Wi-Fi.  To keep the 4G Kindle Fire HD just 8.8 mm thin, Amazon custom-designed its 4G wireless modem to be just 2.2 mm.  Some 4G devices don't support all of the non-4G bands—Kindle Fire HD includes support for 10-bands, so even if a customer doesn't have perfect 4G coverage, the Kindle will fall back to the fastest available 3G speeds.

 

Amazon's Breakthrough 4G LTE Data Package

The 4G Kindle Fire HD comes with the most affordable 4G tablet data package.  Customers will have access to a 12-month data plan with 250MB per month, 20GB of Amazon Cloud storage, and a $10 credit in the Amazon Appstore for a one-time cost of $49.99. In fact, when you combine the cost of the device and the data plan, customers who purchase the Kindle Fire HD 4G LTE will pay over $400 less than latest generation iPad owners in the first year of ownership. Customers can also choose to upgrade to 3 GB or 5 GB data plans from AT&T directly from the device.

 

8 GB of Storage is Not Enough for an HD Tablet

Customers want to enjoy HD content if they have an HD tablet—and 8 GB of on-device storage isn't enough for the larger HD file sizes.  The 7" Kindle Fire HD is available with 16 GB or 32 GB of on-device storage, and the large screen Kindle Fire is available with 16 GB, 32 GB or 64 GB of on-device storage.  This large on-device storage capacity is in addition to the free storage Amazon provides for Amazon digital content in the Amazon Cloud.  Amazon digital content is automatically backed up for free in the Amazon Cloud's Worry-Free Archive where it's available anytime.

 

Powerful World-Class Processor—Snappy and Smooth

An HD display and HD content must be driven by a powerful processor and optimized software.  The Kindle Fire HD family features world-class processors and the new Imagination Technologies graphics engine for lightning-fast HD graphics and excellent fluidity.  The 8.9" Kindle Fire HD is powered by the latest generation OMAP4 4470 processor and Imagination SGX544 graphics engine capable of over 12 billion floating point operations per second—50 percent more than Tegra 3, and both Kindle Fire HD 7" and 8.9" come with higher memory bandwidth than Tegra 3.  Combining the latest generation processors with significant customization of the Kindle Fire software by Amazon engineers results in a snappy and smooth experience for the user.

 

Dual Stereo Speakers and Exclusive Dolby Audio—The New Standard for Tablet Audio

Customers shouldn't need to wear headphones while watching a movie on a tablet to get excellent sound.  Kindle Fire HD solves this by combining dual stereo speakers with the next generation Dolby Digital Plus audio platform—the standard in high performance audio—to offer a world-class audio experience.  Dolby's audio suite for Kindle Fire HD includes technology used to adjust volume and deliver easier-to-understand dialogue in movies and TV shows.  Kindle Fire HD automatically optimizes the audio profile based on what a customer is doing, such as watching a movie, listening to music, using third party apps like Pandora and Netflix, and also optimizes for headphones versus speakers.  All of these pieces combine to create an exceptional audio experience that results in clearer, crisper and balanced sound quality.

 

11 Hours of Battery Life

The 7" Kindle Fire HD is optimized to deliver high performance without sacrificing battery life, delivering over 11 hours of battery life.

 

Thin and Light

Even with a custom display, a powerful processor, extra speakers and dual-band/dual-antenna Wi-Fi, the new Kindle Fire HD is extremely light and thin.  In fact, Kindle Fire HD 8.9" weighs only 20 ounces and is just 8.8 mm thin.  Kindle Fire HD 7" is small enough to take everywhere and light enough to hold easily and comfortably in one hand.

 

Connect with Bluetooth and HDMI

Kindle Fire HD supports Bluetooth, enabling customers to connect their wireless Bluetooth headphones or Bluetooth speakers to listen to songs, videos or audiobooks.  With Bluetooth connectivity, customers can also easily connect to a wide range of Bluetooth-enabled keyboards.  HDMI out makes it easy for customers to connect the Kindle Fire HD to their big-screen TV to enjoy their favorite HD videos and photos.

 

Stay in Touch with Front-Facing HD Camera

The new Kindle Fire HD features a front-facing HD camera.  Skype created a customized app tailored for Kindle Fire HD that is ready to use out of the box for free HD video calls at home and abroad.  Kindle Fire HD makes it easy for the over 500 million customers already using Skype to get in touch with friends and family.

 

Beautiful Leather Covers

Covers for Kindle Fire HD feature a premium textured leather exterior in a variety of colors and a subtle woven nylon interior to provide the lightest and thinnest form of protection. The integrated magnetic clasp ensures the cover remains securely closed while in a backpack, purse, or briefcase. The cover automatically wakes Kindle Fire HD upon opening and puts it to sleep when closed, making it easy to dive right back into whatever content a customer is enjoying.

 

All-New Features Only Amazon Can Offer

X-Ray for Books

One year ago, Amazon introduced X-Ray on Kindle Touch, and customers loved it.  Amazon is extending X-Ray to books on Kindle Fire, making it easier than ever for customers to learn more about the content they love by exploring the "bones of the book."  With a single tap, readers can see all the passages across a book that mention ideas, fictional characters, historical figures, places or topics that interest them, as well as more detailed descriptions from Wikipedia and Shelfari, Amazon's community-powered encyclopedia for book lovers.

 

X-Ray for Movies

"X-Ray for Movies" is a new feature that revolutionizes the movie experience by bringing the power of IMDb directly to movies on Kindle Fire HD, accessible with a simple tap.  Without ever leaving the movie, customers can look up any actor in the scene or movie, see what other movies they have been in, and view photos, biographies and more.  X-Ray is offered only by Amazon and is exclusive to the Amazon ecosystem.  IMDb, an Amazon company for 14 years, is the #1 movie website in the world with more than 160 million monthly unique visitors worldwide.

 

X-Ray for Textbooks

Glossaries in print textbooks contain the most important information for students, but they're placed inconveniently in the back of the book.  And glossaries don’t always contain enough information for students working to understand new concepts.  X-Ray for Textbooks solves these problems by integrating the glossary directly into each textbook page and by algorithmically assembling related data from Wikipedia and YouTube.

 

Immersion Reading

Research supports that readers can benefit from listening while reading.  Together, Amazon and Audible invented "Immersion Reading," allowing customers to fuse together printed text and professionally-narrated audiobooks, giving readers the ability to experience their reading with two senses—sight and sound.  As the reader views the text of their book on Kindle Fire, text is highlighted as it is professionally-narrated, creating a more immersive experience, as well as deeper learning and comprehension.

 

Whispersync for Voice

Whispersync for Voice allows customers to synchronize their Kindle books with professionally-narrated audiobooks—customers can start reading a book on Kindle Fire and seamlessly switch to listening to the companion audiobook, picking up exactly where they left off.  With Whispersync for Voice, customers can continue enjoying books during commutes or any other time their eyes are busy.  When they get in the car, customers can effortlessly pick up the story right where they left off reading by listening to the professionally-narrated audiobook using Bluetooth on Kindle Fire HD or with any Audible app on their smartphone.

 

Ideal for Gaming

Amazon has worked with leading developers to offer new Android games exclusively on Kindle Fire HD, including Activision's popular Skylanders Cloud Patrol franchise and Crytek's Fibble.  In Skylanders Cloud Patrol, gamers will discover a new feature—the ability to purchase physical toys from within a game.  Customers will be able to purchase a unique Skylanders character with a single click, and Amazon.com will deliver it to their doorstep. In addition to hardware that's perfect for gaming like stunning custom HD displays, fast Wi-Fi and large on-device storage, the Kindle Fire HD family also offers HD Games, gyroscope and accelerometer for full tilt and turn controls, as well as social gaming features including group leaderboards and achievements.

 

Whispersync for Games

One of the biggest frustrations of mobile gaming is that when customers switch devices or delete and re-install the game on the same device, they have to start a level over or go back to the beginning of the game.  To solve this problem, Amazon extended its Whispersync technology to gaming with Whispersync for Games.  Whispersync for Games syncs a customer's place in the game and saves unlocked levels, so even if they get a new device, the progress is backed up in the cloud.

 

Kindle FreeTime

Amazon today reinvented parental controls with Kindle FreeTime.  FreeTime gives parents easy-to-use tools to personalize their children's digital media experience.   With FreeTime, parents never have to worry what content their kids will access—parents select all of the content their kids can see and kids can't exit FreeTime without a password.  FreeTime also lets parents limit their kids' screen time by content type—they may choose to limit videos and games, for example, but make reading time unlimited.  Kindle FreeTime will be available for free on all of the new Kindle Fire devices starting in the coming weeks.

 

Cloud-Accelerated Silk Browser

The new Kindle Fire family uses a new version of Amazon Silk with the unique "split browser" architecture that leverages the computing speed and power of Amazon Web Services to deliver content faster.  The new Amazon Silk browser features an updated core rendering engine and a reengineered transport layer that contribute to faster page loads.  Customers can experience full-screen browsing, reading view, and improved browsing with most-visited, trending and recommended sites all available from a single screen.

 

All-New Email and Calendar

The new Kindle Fire family features world-class Microsoft Exchange integration, with fine-tuned performance on many of the most critical e-mail functions.  For example, typical Exchange accounts sync with the oldest emails first, ending with the most recent emails—Kindle Fire instead syncs with newer emails first, then with older emails, getting customers faster access to the most recent emails they are looking for. Kindle Fire also features a new calendar app, making it easy for customers to stay connected and keep track of their schedules.  The new e-mail client offers support for the world's most popular email providers—including Gmail, Microsoft Exchange, Hotmail and more.

 

Photos Brought to Life

Photos come alive in stunning high-resolution on Kindle Fire HD.  Fire's mosaic view arranges personal photos beautifully, and customers will be delighted to see their best shots on their TV with HDMI out.  Kindle Fire lets customers easily import their photos from Facebook and because their photos are securely stored in Amazon Cloud Drive, they never have to worry about losing their favorite pictures.

 

New Latest Generation Kindle Fire—Only $159

Kindle Fire, the #1 best-selling product on Amazon for the past year, is now even better, with all the features customers love about the original Kindle Fire—all the content, seamless integration with the Amazon Cloud, Whispersync, and a brilliant 7" touchscreen—now with a faster processor for 40% faster performance, twice the memory and longer battery life.  The new Kindle Fire also offers all of the new features that are exclusive to the Kindle Fire family—including X-Ray for Movies, X-Ray for Books, Immersion Reading, Whispersync for Voice, Kindle FreeTime and more.

 

Backed by the World's Best Content Ecosystem, Cross-Platform Interoperability and Customer Service

All the Content—Over 22 Million Movies, TV Shows, Songs, Apps, Games, Books, Audiobooks and Magazines

Kindle Fire offers customers the largest selection of digital content, including thousands of exclusives:

-          Over 120,000 movies and TV episodes, including the most popular titles and the biggest new releases.  Customers can stream or download, purchase or rent.  Amazon Prime members enjoy unlimited, commercial-free streaming of over 25,000 popular movies and TV episodes at no additional cost with Prime Instant Video.  Customers who are new to Prime get one free month of Amazon Prime when they purchase Kindle Fire.

-          Instant access to the most popular apps and games, including Where’s My Perry?, Pinterest, NBA JAM, HBO GO, Hulu Plus and Asphalt 7—each one optimized for Kindle Fire HD.

-          Millions of songs from over 3 million artists.  Customers can stream purchases from the cloud, download playlists for offline listening, and store their personal collection in the cloud for access anytime, anywhere.

-          Millions of books, including over 180,000 titles that are exclusive to the Kindle Store.  Over 650,000 books are priced at $4.99 or less; over 1.2 million are $9.99 or less.  Amazon Prime members can choose from over 180,000 titles, including all 7 Harry Potter books and over 100 current and former New York Times best sellers, to borrow for free as part of Kindle Owners' Lending Library, as frequently as a book a month with no waiting and no due dates.

-          Hundreds of magazines and newspapers—including Vogue, Esquire, National Geographic and Better Homes and Gardens—with glossy full-color layouts, HD photography, and beautifully detailed illustrations. Customers can try more than 50 free single issues available in the Kindle Newsstand, including Cosmopolitan, Maxim, O, The Oprah Magazine, ESPN The Magazine, Elle and Martha Stewart Living.

-          Over 100,000 professionally-narrated audiobook titles available, with free samples to listen to before buying.

 

Best Cross-Platform Interoperability with "Buy Once, Enjoy Everywhere"

With apps available on the largest number of devices and platforms, Kindle makes it easier than ever to access content anytime, anywhere.  Customers can read and sync their Kindle books across iPad, iPhone, PC, Mac, Android phones and tablets, BlackBerry, Windows Phones and in their web browsers with Kindle Cloud Reader.  Amazon Instant Video and Prime Instant Video are available to watch on iPad, PC, Mac, Xbox, Playstation 3, Blue-Ray, Roku and hundreds of compatible TVs, and because of Amazon's Whispersync technology, customers never have to worry about losing their place in a movie or TV show.  Amazon MP3s are available on iPhone, iPad, Android phones and tablets, Sonos and web browsers with Cloud Player.  Apps from the Amazon Appstore for Android are available on all Android phones and tablets.  No other company offers customers this level of flexibility with their content.

 

Free Month of Amazon Prime

Amazon continues to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to bring Prime members new movies, TV shows and books to enjoy at no additional cost.  Amazon customers enjoy unlimited, commercial-free, instant streaming of over 25,000 movies and TV episodes with Prime Instant Video; over 180,000 books from Kindle Owners' Lending Library to borrow for free, as frequently as a book a month, with no waiting and no due dates; and receive the convenience of Free Two-Day Shipping on over 15 million items from Amazon.com.  Even with all this investment and continually growing selection, Prime remains at the same low price it launched with seven years ago—just $79.  Customers who are new to Prime get one free month of Amazon Prime when they purchase Kindle Fire.

 

Arrives Pre-Registered

Kindle Fire comes automatically pre-registered so customers can immediately start enjoying their digital content purchased from Amazon or shop for new content.

 

Top-Rated, World-Class Customer Service

When a customer shops on Amazon.com, buys a Kindle Fire, or buys Kindle content, they know that with that they are also getting Amazon's world-class customer service.  Amazon scored 86—the top score—on the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI), and 89 on the ForeSee customer satisfaction survey—the highest ever attained by a retailer.  Amazon has been rated #1 in the National Retail Federation Customers’ Choice Awards, has been awarded the top spot in the MSN Money Customer Service Hall of Fame three years in a row, and is a JD Power and Associates 2012 Customer Service Champion.  Customers have been shopping on Amazon for over 15 years, and they continue to do so because of the unparalleled end-to-end customer experience.

 

Special Offers

The new Kindle Fire family comes with special offers that appear on the lock screen.  Examples of special money-saving offers that customers will enjoy include a $5 credit in the Amazon MP3 Store and a $5 credit for select titles in the Amazon Instant Video Store.  Customers will also receive special offers and screensavers from brands like AT&T, Discover and Intel, such as a special offer of a $10 Amazon.com Gift Card when a customer uses their Discover card to purchase a digital product on Amazon.

 

Best Tablets at Any Price

The all-new Kindle Fire HD 7"—with a stunning HD display, the fastest Wi-Fi, exclusive HD audio with two stereo speakers and Dolby Digital Plus, 16 or 32 GB of storage and a powerful world-class processor—all backed by the world's best content ecosystem, best cross-platform interoperability and best customer service is $199.  Kindle Fire HD 7" is available for preorder starting today atwww.amazon.com/kindlefirehd7 and will begin shipping on September 14.

 

Kindle Fire HD 8.9", with all of these features plus an ultra-high definition 8.9" screen, and 16 or 32 GB of storage, starts at $299 and is available for preorder starting today at www.amazon.com/kindlefirehd, and will begin shipping on November 20.

 

Kindle Fire HD 8.9" 4G, with the most affordable 4G data plan in the world, and 32 or 64 GB of storage, starts at $499 and is available for preorder starting today at www.amazon.com/kindlefirehd4G, and will begin shipping on November 20.

 

The new latest generation Kindle Fire with a faster processor for 40% faster performance, twice the memory and all the new features is only $159, and pre-order to reserve their page in line at www.amazon.com/kindlefire and will begin shipping on September 14.

 

For high resolution images and video of the all-new Kindle Fire family, visit www.amazon.com/pr/kindle.

 

About Amazon.com

Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN), a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened on the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection. Amazon.com, Inc. seeks to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. Amazon.com and other sellers offer millions of unique new, refurbished and used items in categories such as Books; Movies, Music & Games; Digital Downloads; Electronics & Computers; Home & Garden; Toys, Kids & Baby; Grocery; Apparel, Shoes & Jewelry; Health & Beauty; Sports & Outdoors; and Tools, Auto & Industrial. Amazon Web Services provides Amazon's developer customers with access to in-the-cloud infrastructure services based on Amazon's own back-end technology platform, which developers can use to enable virtually any type of business. Kindle Paperwhite is the most-advanced e-reader ever constructed with 62% more pixels and 25% increased contrast, a patented built-in front light for reading in all lighting conditions, extra-long battery life, and a thin and light design.  The new latest generation Kindle, the lightest and smallest Kindle, now features new, improved fonts and faster page turns.  Kindle Fire HD features a stunning custom high-definition display, exclusive Dolby audio with dual stereo speakers, high-end, laptop-grade Wi-Fi with dual-band support and dual-antennas/MIMO for 40% faster throughput than other tablets, enough storage for HD content, and the latest generation processor and graphics engine—and it is available in two display sizes—7" and 8.9".  The large-screen Kindle Fire HD is also available with 4G wireless, and comes with Amazon's groundbreaking $49.99 one year 4G LTE data package—customers save hundreds of dollars in the first year compared to other 4G tablets.  The all-new Kindle Fire features a 20% faster processor, 40% faster performance, twice the memory, and longer battery life.

 

Amazon and its affiliates operate websites, including www.amazon.com, www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.co.jp,www.amazon.fr, www.amazon.ca, www.amazon.cn, www.amazon.it, and www.amazon.es. As used herein, "Amazon.com," "we," "our" and similar terms include Amazon.com, Inc., and its subsidiaries, unless the context indicates otherwise.

 

The 4G device has not been authorized as required by the rules of the Federal Communications Commission. This device is not, and may not be, offered for sale or lease, or sold or leased, until authorization is obtained.

 

Forward-Looking Statements

This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management’s expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that include, among others, risks related to competition, management of growth, new products, services and technologies, potential fluctuations in operating results, international expansion, outcomes of legal proceedings and claims, fulfillment center optimization, seasonality, commercial agreements, acquisitions and strategic transactions, foreign exchange rates, system interruption, inventory, government regulation and taxation, payments and fraud. More information about factors that potentially could affect Amazon.com’s financial results is included in Amazon.com’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and subsequent filings.

Amazon officially announces the Kindle Fire HD; coming November 20th starting at $199

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 11:26 AM PDT

Amazon’s just made another bombshell announcement. They look to be bringing an 8.9 inch Kindle Fire tablet called the Kindle Fire HD. This beast will sport a 1920×1200 resolution for starters, and there are a whole lot more things to like. It sports a dual-core TI OMAP 4470 processor to boot, has two antennas, weights 20 ounces and is just 8.8mm thin.

Other talking points include the inclusion of MIMO technology, which in conjunction with the dual antennas will supposedly bring us 41% faster performance than the iPad 3. This marks the first tablet to ever launch with MIMO technology, which uses dual channels to keep wireless signals “untangled.”

On the software side, Amazon has announced some new changes to Whispersync. It will allow you to listen to a book as an audiobook while you’re driving, then seamlessly continue where you left off in reading mode once you leave the car. Whispersync is also available to developers for saving progress in your game to the cloud.

For movies, the Kindle Fire HD will allow you to tap the screen and bring up actor/actress information of whoever you pressed. The information is fed to you through the world’s largest film database – IMDB.com.

A new Kindle FreeTime mode will allow you to set timers for your children to use certain content. You can limit the gaming time to one hour and let them read books all they want, for instance. And with multiple profiles you can set it up differently for each child you have.

All of this is headed our way starting November 20th, with the 7 inch 16GB variant starting at $199.99 and the 8.9 inch 16GB variant starting at $300. Oh, but wait — there’s more.

Amazon is also introducing the Kindle Fire HD 4G LTE. It’ll come with 32GB of storage and will done the 8.9 inch screen size. The 4G logo they used looked like AT&T’s so we imagine they will likely get it, though that’s not confirmation that no other 4G carriers would be getting it at some point down the line. It’s coming to Amazon’s site starting November 20th for $500.

Amazon announces updated 7 inch Kindle Fire, coming September 14th for $159

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 11:19 AM PDT

The tech world flew from a fun-filled day in NYC and converged on the opposite coast for an Amazon event today, and they got together to witness the unveiling of Amazon’s new Kindle Fire tablet. It’s a direct sequel on the version from last year, and it still shares that perfect book-like 7 inch display size that we’ve all come to know and love.

In fact, the device looks a lot like the version of yesteryear. Amazon says it has a newer processor, double the RAM (so 1GB), better battery, and better performance — 44% better. We don’t have a ton of info on the hard specs just yet, but we’re sure Amazon will post all of that shortly.

Oh, and we have pricing and availability: September 14th for $159. How’s that for a bombshell of a price point? You can pre-order it starting today at Amazon.com.

We’re live in Santa Monica from the Amazon event!

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 10:43 AM PDT

We just wanted to drop a quick reminder that Chris Chavez is live in Santa Monica, CA for Amazon’s exciting event. We expect to see tablets, at least — but a new wrinkle in the fold suggests a phone might be announced. Since we won’t know for sure until Amazon says things we’re going to be focused on that, but know that we’ll have all the hands-on and first look video you can handle shortly after the event wraps up. Stay tuned to Phandroid.com for the latest.

Kobo tries to steal thunder from Amazon with 7-inch Android tablet annoucement

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 09:52 AM PDT

Kobo has traditionally been known to dabble in the e-reader and books distribution space and little more, but it seems they’re expanding their portfolio by announcing  a new Android tablet.

It’s the 7 inch Kobo Arc, and the device will come in at a starting price point of just $200 for the 8GB version or 16GB for $250. For that, you’re getting a tablet that runs Android 4.0, but not without heavy user interface customization.

They’re calling its custom UI Tapestries, and it’s a pin-based system that recommends new content based on what’s “pinned” to the homescreen.

The great thing is that having a custom user experience hasn’t stopped them from denying users access to the Google Play Store. I’m not trying to knock Amazon and Barnes and Noble, but what’s the greater number: 1,000 or 600.000? Exactly.

Other known specs are a 1.3 megapixel camera, a microphone, and the device is available in 8GB or 16GB. They are touting up to 10 hours of continuous video playback or reading, and two weeks of standby. We’re also sure there’s some form of WiFi for downloading content, though the details we’re offered on specs are dry.

Regardless, Kobo seems to have put together a very compelling package that doesn’t sacrifice software for a heavily-customized brand experience. It will be available starting this November. And for those of you interested, they’ve also introduced three new e-Ink e-readers. For more on those be sure to read on for full press details.

Starting at $79.99 the New Kobo Family will be available at World’s Largest Network of Booksellers and Leading Retailers including Best Buy and Walmart

TORONTO, Sept. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Kobo, a global leader in eReading, today unveiled its new Kobo Family of eReading devices: the Kobo Glo, Kobo Mini, Kobo Touch and the Kobo Arc – a 7″ Android tablet. Designed by booklovers for booklovers, the new Kobo Family starts at $79.99 and provides readers with more choice and more ways to personalize their eReading experience than ever before – including new stylish colors, accessories, lighting and multimedia options.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20120906/CG68913)

Launched in 2009, with a vision to transform the world of reading, Kobo remains focused on delivering a superior eReading experience. Today, Kobo has more than 10 million users in 190 countries, and offers one of the world’s largest eBookstores with nearly 3 million books across 60 different languages. Kobo pioneered the affordable eReader in May 2010 and is now introducing for the first time its new Kobo Family – offering an eReader for Everyone. The company is a driving force behind the adoption of eReading around the world with its award-winning eReaders and tablets, free apps for tablets, PCs and smartphones, and extensive network of booksellers and leading retailers.

“Our focus has remained firmly on delivering a superior experience for booklovers around the world.  With 11,000 booksellers and leading retail partners across five continents, we are bringing the new Kobo Family to booklovers everywhere,” said Michael Serbinis, CEO, Kobo. “The new Kobo Family provides more choice for booklovers and a superior eReading and content discovery experience – truly, an eReader for Everyone.”

This announcement follows last week’s news of Kobo’s partnership with the American Booksellers Association, empowering up to 2,000 bookstores across America.  U.S. independent bookstores join Kobo’s global network of leading booksellers including Indigo (Canada), WHSmith (UK), FNAC (France), Mondadori (Italy), Libris (Netherlands), Collins (Australia), Whitcoulls (New Zealand) and Rakuten (Japan).

“The launch of Kobo’s new Family of eReading devices represents a bold step for both Kobo and Rakuten,” said Rakuten CEO Hiroshi Mikitani. “This reinforces our commitment to expanding digital goods and e-commerce services to new markets around the globe through beautiful and exciting devices.”

KOBO GLO – READ COMFORTABLY DAY OR NIGHT

The new front-lit Kobo Glo is the next generation in comfortable eReading. It offers innovative soft, even and adjustable ComfortLight technology to enable consumers to read anytime – day or night. Its durable screen and customizable page-turning features make it the perfect eReader for the booklover. The Kobo Glo uses E Ink technology, customizable fonts and a no-glare XGA high-resolution 6″ E Ink screen that is just like reading print on paper, and connects easily to Wi-Fi allowing consumers to explore and discover recommendations in the Kobo eBookstore. The Kobo Glo eReader comes in Black or White and a selection of stylish colours – Pink Sunset, Blue Moon, Silver Star – and will be available starting October 1st for $129.99 MSRP.

KOBO MINI – SMALL IS A BIG DEAL

The Kobo Mini is the world’s smallest and lightest full-featured E Ink eReader available today, offering the full Kobo experience at a great value. Proving that great things come in small packages, the 5″ Kobo Mini easily fits in your purse or pocket and is loaded with all the amazing features Kobo customers have come to know and love. Just like reading print on paper, the no-glare 5″ E Ink screen is easy on the eyes – even in bright sunlight. The Kobo Mini comes in black or white and offers a selection of three stylish Kobo SnapBacks in Teal, Ruby Red, and Purple.  Perfect for people on-the-go, young adults, and easy for first-time readers to hold and read, the highly portable Kobo Mini holds up to 1,000 eBooks.  The Kobo Mini will be available starting October 1st for $79.99 MSRP.

KOBO ARC  – READS YOU LIKE A BOOK

The new Kobo Arc offers booklovers a competitively featured Android 4.0 multimedia tablet with a new way to discover content – books, movies, TV shows, music, web pages and more.  With a Kobo-developed interface called Tapestries, Kobo Arc gives consumers an exciting new way to discover content.  Using an intelligent cross-media recommendations engine, Tapestries responds to the user’s “pinned” content to recommend related videos, movies, books, web pages and other related content. Tapestries makes it easy to discover new personal multimedia recommendations with little effort as the engine learns what consumers love – and brings them more. The 7″ high-definition display delivers crisp, sharp text and with 16-million colours bring photos and videos to life. With front-facing speakers with SRS TruMedia, a built-in microphone and hi-resolution 1.3 MP camera to take photos and videos, the Kobo Arc offers up to 10 hours of continuous reading or video play, and two weeks on standby.  With Google® Play, Kobo Arc users have access to more than 600,000 apps and much-loved pre-loaded apps including Facebook®, Twitter®,  Rdio®, Zinio® and PressReader®. The Kobo Arc is available in Black and White with Blue and Purple interchangeable SnapBacks.  The Kobo Arc will be available this November, starting at $199.99 (8G) MSRP and $249.99 (16G) MSRP.

KOBO TOUCH – THE MOST NATURAL READING EXPERIENCE

The award-winning Kobo Touch, named Wired’s #1 eReader in 2012 and the industry’s first touch-screen eReader, is available in stores around the world– and is now $99.99.  The Kobo Touch includes Kobo’s latest software with more ways to personalize the reading experience, get recommendations and discover new content.  The Kobo Touch is available in seven languages including English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Dutch, and Japanese.

AVAILABLE FOR PRE-ORDER TODAY

Kobo’s global network of 11,000 booksellers will be offering the Kobo Family starting in October.

Starting today, the Kobo Glo will be available for pre-order from the following retail partners around the world:

Leading booksellers around the world will be carrying the new device lineup including: Indigo, WHSmith, FNAC, Libris Blz. Mondadori, Collins, Whitcoulls, and at leading independent booksellers across America.  Other retailers include: Staples, Target, Wal-mart, Best Buy, Future Shop, Asda, the Source, Sears, Toys “R” Us, Frys, Buy.com, Dixons, Argos, John Lewis, Play.com, Euronics, Electronic Partners, Medimax, Media Markt, Saturn, Redcoon, JB Hi-Fi, The Good Guys, Harvey Norman, Noel Leeming, and Swindon.   In addition, Kobo can be found in Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, Austria, Ireland, France, Japan, Hong Kong, Italy, the Netherlands, Germany, and many more countries soon.

For more information and availability on the Kobo Family of devices, visit www.kobo.com.

About Rakuten
Rakuten, Inc. (JASDAQ:4755), is one of the world’s leading Internet service companies, providing a variety of consumer- and business-focused services including e-commerce, e-reading, travel, banking, securities, credit card, e-money, portal and media, online marketing and professional sports. Rakuten is expanding globally and currently has operations throughout Asia, Western Europe, and the Americas. Founded in 1997, Rakuten is headquartered in Tokyo, with over 10,000 employees worldwide.  For more information, visit http://global.rakuten.com/group.

About Kobo Inc.
Kobo Inc. is one of the world’s fastest-growing eReading services offering nearly 3-million eBooks, magazines and newspapers.  Believing that consumers should have the freedom to read any book on any device, Kobo has built an open-standards platform to provide consumers with a choice when reading. Inspired by a “Read Freely” philosophy and a passion for innovation, Kobo has expanded to nearly 190 countries, where millions of consumers have access to localized eBook catalogues and award-winning eReaders, like the Kobo Touch. With top-ranked eReading applications for Apple, BlackBerry, Android, and Windows products, Kobo allows consumers to make eReading social through Facebook Timeline and Reading Life, an industry-first social experience that lets users earn awards for time spent reading and encourage others to join in. Headquartered in Toronto and owned by Tokyo-based Rakuten, Kobo eReaders can be found in major retail chains across the globe.

For more information, visit www.kobo.com.

Seesmic acquired by Hootsuite, we cry

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 09:15 AM PDT

Seesmic was one of the first Twitter clients on Android to change the game, but as you know the game changed rapidly and developers must adapt. Unfortunately for Seesmic they never could. With stiff competition from tons of corporate-driven Twitter clients like Hootsuite, Tweetdeck and more, being as stagnant as they were wasn’t a good strategy to stay in the game.

The latter of those examples, Hootsuite, has acquired Seesmic in a deal for an undisclosed amount. Seesmic’s announcement appears to suggest that the service will soon be put to bed as a standalone offering. Instead, it looks like Hootsuite will integrate its staff and technology into its own operations and continue to be a top competitor in this tough space.

Initially, support for both products will continue, however we will soon be bringing everyone into one great platform. We're working on ways to make the transition as smooth as possible so keep an eye out for updates.

But Hootsuite has blossomed into a great product that, like a fine wine, has only gotten better with time. And all of that rhymes. So fret not — despite our soft spot for Seesmic in our hearts, it was clear that they were struggling and this move will help a great product grow bigger than it already has. Give the Android app one last download for old times’ sake. [Seesmic]

Motorola’s $100 device trade-in site now live

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 08:38 AM PDT

Yesterday at its New York City event, Motorola announced it would be upgrading most of its 2011 smartphones to Jelly Bean by the end of the year. Unfortunately they couldn’t promise all phones would receive this upgrade, but those who’ve purchased a Motorola smartphone that was released in 2011 and can’t get Jelly Bean will have a great deal lined up for them.

Motorola will give you $100 toward the release of select Jelly Bean-capable Motorola smartphone. Be careful to remember that your phone must have been released in 2011, and that you’ll only be qualified for the credit if your phone has been confirmed to be left out off the Jelly Bean train.

It’s a great initiative by Motorola who seems to be getting “it” about the importance of smartphone updates. We’re not sure if that new culture was spurred by their new-found ownership via Google, but either way we aren’t complaining. Motorola’s currently accepting information to sign up for updates at their website.

AT&T 4G now available in 7 new markets

Posted: 06 Sep 2012 07:53 AM PDT

AT&T has announced that 7 new markets would be getting its high-speed G LTE network. Folks in Jacksonville, FL; Anchorage, AK; Bakersfield, CA; Bridgeport, CT; Modesto, CA; Omaha, NE; and Syracuse, NY will be seeing those 4G icons light up at the top of their phones starting today.

AT&T’s steady pace and sizable deployments give us confidence that folks shouldn’t need to wait long after buying a 4G phone before their markets eventually get service. Let us know if you’re able to get a 4G connection, and don’t forget to perform a speed test to commemorate the joyous occasion.
Posted by at 8:16 AM

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