fire

Almost a quarter of U.S. adults own a tablet, survey finds

Cheaper tablets propelled the growth of the tablet market in the last year, loosening Apple's grip as the king of the tablet world, according to a report released today from the Pew Research Center.

The report said 22 percent of all U.S. adults surveyed actually own a tablet while another 3 percent said they regularly use someone else's tablet for their browsing needs.

The percentage has been growing since last year and Pew attributes the popularity to companies releasing cheaper tablets in late 2011.

About 68 percent of tablet owners got their tablet in the last year, … Read more

Kindle Fire HD hot, but Google Nexus 7 grabs more Web traffic

Amazon's new Kindle Fire HD is off to a good start in the market, yet the Nexus 7 remains the tablet to beat, at least in the eyes of mobile ad network Chitika.

Tracking hundreds of millions of ad impressions on its network from September 14 to 18, Chitika compared the Web traffic generated by the the Kindle Fire HD and the Nexus 7.

Only five days after its debut, the Kindle Fire HD racked up 11 percent of all Kindle Fire ad impressions in the U.S. and Canada. That means the new model is doing nicely in … Read more

Kindle Fire HD vs. iPad

The iPad and Kindle Fire HD are two different tablets intended for slightly different market segments. The iPad is a "does everything" tablet, while the Fire HD remains focused on media consumption.

However, most people shopping for a tablet don't have the funds to afford both (not that I'm at all encouraging anyone purchase both) and will therefore have to choose. The following is an attempt to make that choice a bit easier. With the iPad being the "everything" tablet in this comparison, I'll focus on comparing the two in categories both tablets are capable of, while also pointing out the strengths of each.… Read more

Kindle Fire HD teardown reveals repair-ready tablet, minor annoyances

With a base price of $199, Amazon's Kindle Fire HD gives you a lot for your money. And while it's just as easy to crack open as the original Fire, it has better hardware and a completely redesigned interior.… Read more

Wal-Mart fires Kindle, kicks it out of its store

Wal-Mart will no longer sell Amazon's Kindle products, highlighting the tensions between the online and physical retail worlds.

The retailing giant confirmed in an e-mail that it would no longer carry the product beyond its current inventory. Reuters earlier reported the decision.

Amazon declined to comment.

The decision to cease selling Amazon's products comes as the online retailer is eating into physical retail chains, also known as brick-and-mortar stores. With more consumers browsing in stores but making purchases online, retailers face the risk of declining sales -- an issue that has shut down companies such as Borders and … Read more

$199 Kindle Fire HD's display puts Retina iPad on notice

Amazon's Kindle Fire HD display is good enough to challenge the pricier Retina iPad's display and "decisively" beat Google's Nexus 7, said display testing firm DisplayMate.

In an article posted Wednesday, DisplayMate compared the 7-inch Kindle Fire HD with the third-generation iPad Retina and got a surprising result.

"It is much better than the iPad 2 and almost as good as the new [Retina] iPad in overall picture quality and color accuracy," wrote Raymond Soneira, president of DisplayMate.

For example, the Kindle Fire HD has greens and yellows "that are slightly more … Read more

Tablet shipments now expected to hit 117 million this year

New products and growing consumer demand could trigger a surge in global tablet shipments to 117 million for 2012, according to IDC.

The new forecast is an increase over IDC's previous prediction, which was looking for tablet shipments of 107 million for the year. Peering over the horizon, the research firm now expects shipments to reach 166 million next year, up from its prior estimate of 142 million. And by 2016, shipments could soar as high as 261 million.

"Despite ongoing economic concerns in most regions of the world, consumers continue to buy tablets in record numbers, and … Read more

Episode 14: HTC One X vs iPhone in a midair Road Test

This week, you finally get to see the results of my high-flying Road Test of the HTC One X! I actually jumped out of a helicopter because we were so sure that this HTC One X commercial, touting its camera features to such an extent that it could be used in a midair fashion shoot, was a ridiculous put-on. You'll see in the segment whether I managed to get the shot, and whether the phone's camera and features performed as advertised.

Special thanks to the folks at GoPro, who helped us set up this shoot and loaned us … Read more

Honoring those who Facebooked themselves out of their jobs

People can't help themselves. Facebook doesn't help them much either.

For weak-willed humans have feelings and foibles. Then they air them on Facebook, and suddenly their faces are red and their slips are pink.

So along comes a blog called The Facebook Fired, which serves as a memorial to those who expressed themselves out of their jobs by expressing themselves publicly.

The most recent post concerns 14 lifeguards from El Monte who made a Gangnam-style video of themselves and posted it to YouTube.

They were divested of their costumes for using city property for their own benefit.

The … Read more

Why I'm choosing the Kindle with Special Offers

There was quite the hullabaloo last week regarding Amazon's new Kindles.

Turns out that the Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle Fire HD tablets were all "Special Offers" models, meaning they'd display ads on their lock screens and main home screens.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos neglected to mention this when announcing the prices for all these Kindles, causing a minor uproar in the hours that followed -- especially when Amazon reps said there would be no way to opt out. Then, barely a day later, Bezos and Co. reversed course and gave Kindle Fire customers the option of … Read more