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How the Kindle replaced my iPad...for book reading

There's a case to be made for convergence devices, and for merging every product down to just one. The iPad, in many ways, has been that device for me: I travel light, I read or watch movies or play games or surf the Web on it. It's a security blanket and a thin catchall.

Still...I bought a Kindle. … Read more

Apple to explore digital handshakes

Apple is looking to get into the business of unique device identification, Patently Apple reports, filing a patent that details plans for a "digital handshake" using next-generation cameras capable of reading specially coated, invisible ink.

The technology would be used for enterprise, social networking, and gaming applications.

While technology already exists that can transfer information between two devices quickly and securely (such as Bump and PayPal), Apple plans on revolutionizing the process and the media used to create a more robust, yet simpler transfer method.… Read more

The 404 923: Where life finds a way (podcast)

CNET's Bridget Carey does double duty on Loaded and The 404 Podcast today with all your latest tech headlines. Even without Wilson around, we can't escape Apple news, so today we're running down some of the best features from iOS 5 and giving you the real reason why Steve Jobs wore a black turtleneck.

It's not all Apple flavored, though- Samuel L. Jackson finally joined twitter, a costumed vigilante was apprehended by the Seattle police department, HP thinks you should spend more money on printer ink to save the print industry, and it's been a rough year for Sony, compounded by yet another PSN account breach and a Bravia television recall.

Enjoy the show!… Read more

HP's solution to the death of print media: Buy more ink

HP today announced a partnership with Conde Nast that will deliver a handful of its most popular magazines (Allure, Details, Epicurious, Wired, Self, Golf Digest, etc.) to your home. Well, more specifically to your printer.

The press release shapes it as a "new digital content distribution medium that merges rich content and digital-to-print service," which really just means that readers can schedule automatic digital content delivery straight to HP's Web-connected printers, which will then use lots of ink to print out excerpts from magazines...in full color. This is the content solution that will save the print industry? Check your calendars; it's not April.… Read more

Ten things we don't know about the Kindle Fire

Testing and reviewing hardware requires an intimate knowledge of the specs, components, and features of a device (as we see all the time in our laptop and desktop reviews). The new Kindle Fire, however, still has a few too many blank spots on its spec sheet to be able to give it a truly thorough early analysis.

For every interesting thing we learned about the Kindle Fire today, there were one or more important questions not answered. Some of this information may be forthcoming soon, and some answers may have to wait until we can get our hands on the final shipping version to determine.

As of the Kindle Fire's official announce day, these are the most pressing questions we have about the new device. … Read more

Amazon unveils trio of Kindle e-ink readers

Amazon today showed off three new versions of its Kindle e-ink digital book reader.

The company unveiled the Kindle Touch for $99. It also showed off a 3G version, which will sell for $149. A cheaper and smaller non-touch-control Kindle will sell for $79, and will be supported with ads.

What to expect from Wednesday's Amazon event

In case you missed it, Amazon.com is having a big press event this Wednesday in New York to roll out something new. OK, maybe it's not Apple kind of big. But it's big enough, especially with the smart money on Jeff Bezos unveiling Amazon's much-anticipated Android tablet (leaks suggest it may be called the Kindle Fire), which a lot of anti-Apple folks hope can slow down the iPad juggernaut.

Will we see two tablets--a 7-incher and a 10-incher--or just one? If it is a tablet, will it really be branded the "Kindle Fire" or something else? Will there be a new e-ink Kindle? After all, it's been over a year since Amazon introduced the Kindle 3--isn't it time for a new model?

Lots of questions remain, so with that in mind, here's a short preview of what we could see on Wednesday and the odds of each option actually coming to fruition. … Read more

Amazon reportedly ramping up 7- and 10-inch tablets

Amazon is aiming to launch both a 7-inch and 10-inch tablet in the third quarter and is currently lining up the right suppliers, according to the latest from the folks at DigiTimes.

A number of chip design firms in Taiwan expect to see a healthy bump in sales in the third quarter as they ship parts for the new tablets, said Digitimes, citing industry sources. With Amazon shooting to ship 4 million tablets this year, the company's orders for integrated circuits have become the second largest in the industry, behind only Apple's iPad, added the sources.

These … Read more

New Nook Simple Touch Reader review

Is the new Nook better than the Kindle? That's what a lot of people are asking and the short answer--at least at this moment--is arguably yes.

No, it doesn't have an audio jack for MP3 music playback or a built-in basic Web browser, but it does have one thing the Kindle doesn't: a touch-screen interface--and it's a good one.

How does the new Nook perform compared with the Kindle?

Read the full review of the 2011 Nook to find out.

Kobo unveils Wi-Fi Touch Edition e-reader for $129.99

The day before Barnes & Noble is expected to announce a new e-ink e-reader, Kobo unveiled its own new e-ink model, the Kobo WiFi Touch Edition, for $129.99.

As its name implies, the new e-reader has a touch screen and uses the same Neonode infrared technology that's found in Sony's touch-screen e-readers. It also has E-Ink's latest generation Pearl e-ink screen.

Here's a look at the key specs:

Touch screen with Neonode "responsive" zForce infrared touch technology (Kobo is calling it "Real Touch") 6-inch Pearl e-ink screen (same screen as Kindle'… Read more