Gadgets

Amazon introduced its Kindle Paperwhite e-reader today, showcasing the new device's lighted screen and lengthy battery life at an event in Santa Monica, Calif.

With more contrast and brightness than found on previous Kindles, the Paperwhite has a resolution of 212 pixels per inch (62 percent higher resolution than the current Kindle) and boasts eight weeks of battery life with the light on at half brightness (based on 30 minutes of use a day with WiFi off)  -- twice as much longevity as the Nook Glowlight, CEO Jeff Bezos said at the event. The Kindle Paperwhite is 9.… Read more

Motorola just confirmed plans for its Droid Razr M Android mobile phone. Available from Verizon for $99 with a two-year contract starting September 13, the Razr M will feature a 4.3-inch Super AMOLED screen running nearly the entire width and length of the device for stunning visuals.

Check out our first take of the Droid Razr M

… Read more

If you need a smartphone with a huge, lovely screen plus a big battery to match, Motorola says it has your number.

Its new Droid Razr Maxx HD offers a vast 4.7-inch HD Super AMOLED display (1,280x720 pixels), and the same 3,300 mAh battery pack that propelled the first Droid Razr Maxx to new heights in longevity. … Read more

Say goodbye to burned cookies with the f/60 Lens Kitchen Timer. Resembling a typical kit zoom lens, this nifty contraption can keep time for up to 60 minutes.

Operation is easy. Simply twist on the knurled "zoom ring" of the lens and the ring of a bell will alert you when the countdown is complete. The device is fully mechanical and does not require batteries to run. … Read more

It clear that the Galaxy Note 2 and Galaxy Camera won't be the last we hear of Samsung in 2012.

Indeed, the first details of another three models have bubbled up to the surface, some of which could arrive in the near term. This week a Samsung-focused blog SamMobile told us that we should be on the lookout for a Galaxy S III Mini, Galaxy S II Plus, and the Galaxy Premier.

It's difficult to say for certain, but the Galaxy S III Mini likely will debut in the weeks following the iPhone 5 release. Considering the rumored … Read more

It's been just over two months since I shifted from Windows to the Mac. Overall, the transition has been pretty painless. Amazingly so. But there are some things I really miss, so I thought I'd describe my experience.

Before I go further, I'll repeat my constant refrain in this column. Whatever works for you, works for you. There is no wrong phone, computer, or device. If whatever you use does what you want, more power to you and your choice!

Perhaps more than anything else, I miss Outlook 2010 for Windows. Its counterpart, Outlook 2011 … Read more

At the IFA technology trade show in Berlin, Sony pulled the wraps off of three new Android smartphones. Called the Xperia T, Xperia V, and Xperia J, each device will range in capabilities, with the T being top dog and the V and J following behind. … Read more

Not long before his death, Steve Jobs told Walter Isaacson, the author of Jobs' authorized biography, about his pure hatred for Google Android:

"I will spend my last dying breath if I need to, and I will spend every penny of Apple's $40 billion in the bank, to right this wrong. I'm going to destroy Android, because it's a stolen product. I'm willing to go thermonuclear war on this."

Few things angered him more than Android, a mobile OS that he believed was copied from … Read more

I like buttons on my devices. Buttons you can press, buttons that click -- not "soft" buttons that only appear on screen.

There's a place for real buttons, and I hope they don't die off.

I don't know if there's an actual trend of physical buttons disappearing. I sure hope that's not the case. But I got to thinking about the benefits of "hard" buttons when I was using my Nexus 7 Android tablet recently. (Hang on, Android fanboys, I'll have some words for Apple about buttons, too.)

In … Read more