Amazon Fire Phone: Dear Google we can do an Android phone & we can do it better

Google’s Android device makers love Android because it is open source. What they don’t like is that they have to pay Google to use parts of it and that so much of it is locked down. Amazon’s Kindle Fire showed them another way it and they want to release their own.  Amazon’s Kindle Fire tablet runs on Android 2.3, gingerbread but Amazon has done such a great job with modding it; one can barely resembles Android.  Android’s source code is readily available, companies can do what they want with it. The only thing keeping them tied to Google has been, up to now, the desire to be part of the official lineup of Android Play and other Google apps.

However Amazon went their own way with a store and it worked. More and more companies plan to do the same thing. Sony already does something similar with Vita. This trend is great news for fans of the Android platform. This is not a good thing for  Google who will continue to lose what little control they have over it.

It is yet to be seen can Amazon work with major carriers to offer a phone.  There could and most likely will be a conflict of interest since Amazon currently sells phones. What is to stop them from marketing just their own phone and leaving everyone else on the shelf. That said it would be a PR nightmare if they did. I for one I’m looking forward to some competition to the Apple dominance and Android mediocreness.

Last minute tech gifts that will be in stock

If you have not done your shopping by now it might be a little too late for you. I am here to help you. Here are few gifts that will be in stock and easy to get a hands on last minute online and delivered on time for Christmas. That being said you should properly start getting a list together ASAP!

iPhone 4S:

By that I mean a new case, a car charger, a AppStore gift card, Bluetooth. You really have an endless amount of accessories to choose from.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

MacBook Air: $999

This is not for the faint of heart or wallet and better be for someone very dear to your heart.

You do however ensure it will not be regifted.

 

 

 

 

 

 

MacBook Pro: $1,399

This should strictly be a you asked for it and here it is type gift. The you’re not getting anything else so don’t ask gift. The you did great in school, I love you to death, we are on the path to marriage or best brother in the world gift.

Amazon Kindle Fire: $199

Amazon has done a great job of marketing this little wonder. The fact is that this tablet is not a tablet at all. It’s a eReader first and foremost. It just happens to be robust enough to handle media and apps. Don’t get this for anyone that even hinted that they wanted iPad. It has no front   camera, heck it has no camera at all but that $199 is a great entry price.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barnes & Noble Nook Color: $249

This little wonder singlehandedly saved Barnes & Noble from the fate suffered by Boarders. Although the price does seem a tad bit high now that the Amazon Kindle Fire is out at $50 cheaper and gives your Amazon Prime for free. It overall feels like a tablet first and a eReader second. Overall a great buy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Acer Aspire S3: $899

Want to get someone a MacBook Air but don’t have the money for the Apple name surcharge? Say hello to the blatant ripoff from Acer. The Aspire is a dead copy of MacBook Air but running windows 7. Oh, it also lacks the light up keyboard. The other hardware is very compatible and even went configured to the max it’s still cheaper than the MacBook Air.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Helo TC: $50

Do you have a big kid in the house? You know the mid 20′s early 30′s type? This helicopter is controlled via an iOS or Android device. Flys pretty high and is generally just a fun toy for adults.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Whitings Body Scale: $159

This is the best gift for anyone you know about to jump on that new years resolution. This scale saves profiles and can wirelessly send the results to a free app that motivates you along.

 

 

 

 

 

Zippo Outdoor lighter: $19.95

This is the gift for the quote on quote manly man. This lighter will flame up at temperatures well below zero. What someone would be doing out in temperatures that low is beyond me but they will have light and fire.

 

 

 

 

 

Wacom Inkling Pen: $199

The Light Scribe Pen was great product when it firsts came out but there were a lot of limitations. The one I have has been collecting dust for a while now. The one of the main two reasons why this pen did not take off was that it requires the of buying special paper. The second is that the pen was not able to detect pressure, which is a key for artist looking to transfer their work to the computer. The Wacom Inkling Pen has none of these issues so buy it ASAP for your budding Picasso.

 

 

 

 

 

Spalding Never Flat Basketball: $40

This is not even a holiday gift really because you should just get this for anyone you know that likes basketball based off General principle. It’s cheaper than a video game and will last longer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

SteriPen Freedom: $120

With this gift it will be alright to drink the water no matter where you go. The metallic green Freedom provides 8000 0.5L (16 oz.) water treatments. In 48 seconds, the germicidal UV light destroys over 99.9% of bacteria, viruses and protozoa such as giardia and cryptosporidium. One liter volumes may be disinfected by treating twice. Best of all it has an integrated battery that recharges via a micro USB port.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ResQme Keychain: $10

If you fearful of getting trapped in your car than ResQMe is the key chain rescue tool that has already helped to save many lives and may just the thing to calm your nerves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Kensington BungeeAir: $100

With BungeeAir, when you and your iPhone are separated, your iPhone’s screen automatically locks and sends an alert to the BungeeAir fob. The fob alarms with sound and vibration to remind you that the wireless security tether is broken and your iPhone was left behind.

Kindle Fire is selling like…wait for it….wait for it.. Fire

I know you have heard or read some bad reviews about the Amazon Kindle Fire. The thing is that it’s not as bad as its made out to be. In fact, it’s not bad at all. Although my mentor Chad Hess taught me a long time ago that perception is reality. The problem Kindle Fire has is the same problem every other device on the market will have; it’s not an iPad.

If you try to compare an apple to an orange things are just not going to add up. It’s not that the Kindle is a bad device. It has a wonderful interface, loads of apps and streaming services. The Kindle Fire has a 7″ screen so the best device for you to compare it to would be the small Samsung Galaxy Tab or the RIM Playbook. In that match up the Kindle Fire would win every time. That unfortunately is not what is happening in the press.

I will not follow suit. I held one in my hands and played with each application as well as the services. My conclusion is this; The Amazon Kindle Fire is not an iPad. The device is a great alternative to said iPad. That is how it should reviewed and thought of. It has a great custom Amazon Android operating system. The synergy between Amazon’s online store, Kindle library and the Kindle Fire device is unmatched by anything currently on the market.

The Kindle Fire is iPad’s first real competitor because it can match Apple in the services department. That is why Samsung Galaxy Tab and Motorola Xoom were no match for the iPad. Their devices were reliant on others for functionality. This is a flaw that makes the device seem fragmented.  Amazon’s Kindle line is selling  over 4 million units every single week. This is not a device that was built shabby in an attempt to cash in on the tablet hysteria. Amazon took its time and it shows. Plus for $199 it’s the no brainer gift idea this year.

Can the Kindle Fire live up to it’s name?

Amazon’s tablet was not 4G. It was not even 3G. It was just Wi-Fi. It was not a 9.7 or 10″ wonder tablet. What it was and is remains the same.  A Kindle that happens to be able to handle other media very well. The price is the real reason it is called the Fire. $199 is like a constant fire sale for such a good product.  November 14th was the day that Apple got real competition. Not in terms of design and truth be told not in content either but in price point. When the holidays start to get close and people start to suffer from shallow pocket syndrome. The Kindle Fire sounds like a great deal.

You know you are going to get the quality of Amazon and with so man Kindles already out in the wild its not new. It does not have to fight for that name recognition.  Although reviews say Amazon’s  tablet falls short of Apple’s iPad, the point is you are not buying an iPad. You are buying a tablet that can do much of what the iPad can do at a fraction of the price. You are buying that attractive price point. You are buying the ecosystem of Amazon. You are buying Amazon Prime. Amazon’s Kindle Fire remains the No.1 product on Amazon’s site weeks after per-orders went up.

Say hello to the New Amazon line of Kindles: Kindle Touch, Kindle Touch 3G and Kindle Fire

Today Amazon jumped feet first into the tablet ring while not forgetting to tag in it’s friends the Kindle. There were four Kindles announced today. The all-new Kindle for only $79, two new touch Kindles – Kindle Touch and Kindle Touch 3G – for $99 and $149, and a new class of Kindle – Kindle Fire – a beautiful full color Kindle for movies, TV shows, music, books, magazines, apps, games, web browsing and more, for only $199.  You will be able to be a Amazon Prime member which includes unlimited, instant streaming of over 10,000 popular movies and TV shows and Free Two-Day Shipping on millions of items. Now the value would be worth it if it were not only for one month. Amazon Kindle Fire is identical to the PlayBook in looks.

The one everyone was waiting for did not disappoint. The Kindle Fire looks just like RIM PlayBook but with an Amazon custom UI. There are no signs of Android anywhere on the device. You have the Amazon AppStore no Google Marketplace. You also get free Cloud Storage for your music and movies. Gorilla Glass is on the LCD.

The Amazon Fire does however have a camera and microphone. The backing of all that Amazon content helps a lot as well. Amazon’s customized Android OS looks to be just perfect for this tablet. You can watch movies, read books, play music, browse the web and spend money on Amazon services.  $199 for a great tablet should take a bite out of the tablet let market. Combine that with the The new Kindle & Kindle touch for $79 and $99 and you can see why Amazon is in the best position to take on Apple. It’s all about price point.

I have two questions that I wonder about; 1st will the Prime service be lifetime  or just for the first year. 2nd lets see how long it will take hackers to get this device Rooted to run other flavors of Android. I’m talking to you XDA Developers. Pre-orders start today, shipping on November 21st.

Amazon set to show new tablet on September 28th?

The tablet world is about to get a lot more active. Amazon sent out media invites on Friday for a press event that will be held in New York City on September 28th. That is it, no more information than that was provided by the invites.  We all expect the company to finally show us  its first Android tablet.

 

Rumors suggest that Amazon will be priced way under the price of  the  iPad.  Some think it will be by hundreds of dollars. Others even think that Amazon could price its tablet at the magical $99 to $200 range. It was reported this spring that Amazon was working on two tablets called  “Coyote”  and one called “Hollywood”.

 

The company’s first tablet device will be a 7-inch display and will run Android with a custom Amazon user interface on top. They already have the Amazon AppStore. They might not even add the Google Android Market Place. SaintelDaily will be at Amazon’s event, so will keep you updated.

App Review: Book Creator for iPad

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The app Book Creator for iPad comes highly recommend by our readers. So we thought it would be a good idea to get a hold of the developer for a little 1 on 1. For those that have not heard about this great app; 1st what? 2nd we will explain.

Book Creator for iPad is the simple way to create your own beautiful iBooks, right on the iPad. Read them in iBooks, send them to your friends, or submit them to the iBookstore. Ideal for children’s picture books, photo books, art books, cook books, manuals, textbooks, and the list goes on.

FEATURES

* Quickly add pictures from the Photos app, or grab them from the web, then move and resize them with your fingers.
* Edit text using the onscreen keyboard, and apply rich formatting to make it look great.
* Choose from all of the iPad’s fonts – over 50 to use.
* Layout your book exactly as you want it with guidelines and snap positioning.
* A quick tap and you’re reading your book in iBooks!
* Send your books to your friends over email, or sync using Dropbox.
* With your books created using the international ePub standard you know they will be readable now and in the future.
* Full support for iBooks’ fixed layout format, including double page images.

The developer and one man team over at Red Jumper Studio is the very talented Dan Amos. Here is what he had to say about the app and it’s future.

Where did the idea for the app come from?
From a trip to the London Book Fair with my wife, a YA novelist. We were struck at still have prohibitively expensive and complex it is to produce a good quality e-book.

How many developers worked on the app?
Just myself.

Will the app be on other platforms?
Perhaps Amazon’s tablet – let’s see when it arrives!

What are the future plans for the app?
I’ve had fantastic feedback from users of the app and I have a long list of requests.
Next up will be adding support for audio and video to your iBooks, along with rounding out the text and image formatting tools.

What sets your app apart from the others out there?
It’s the only tool that enables you to create fixed layout iBooks, and with its simple and intuitive interface anyone can do it!

Company Questions: How did the company come together?
Red Jumper Studio was started after leaving my role at Nokia as a Product Manager for their digital music service and the N9 device. For me this is a great opportunity to work in a fast lean way, involving my customers directly in the product’s future.

How many developers do you have not counting contracted sources?
Just myself.

What can we expect next from your talented team?

Making Book Creator the best app it can be!

Pro: Book Creator for iPad is the simple way to create your own beautiful iBooks, right on the iPad. There could not be any easier way to self publish a book at the moment.

Con: The only con I have is crashes sometimes when you try to open a created book  in iBooks. It seems to be an issue with iOS 5. There was no issue with my other iOS 4 iPad 2. I am sure this will be fixed by the release of iOS 5 to the public.

Cost: $6.99

Aye/Nay: This is a Aye. This is a great program. One of those that make you wonder “why did I not think of this?”  $7 worth it.

iTunes Link: Book Creator for iPad

Companies go around Apples Subscription Paywall via HTLM5: Kindle & Vudu set the standard at a bar

Wait; what? So, let me get this clear. You want me to pay you 30% of my subscription earnings just to be in your store? Is it April 1st? Did I miss the memo or something? Well Amazon which in my option is the most creative at going around other companies tech to make a profit. We have seen them do this with the Android Market. Basically undercutting Google’s storefront by making there own and arguably better quality store. They have well they are doing it again, this time to Apple.

Amazon has created a very useable Kindle reader where you can buy your books and read them all within the Safari browser on iPad. Some space is used on your iPad so you can read the books offline without the need for an internet connection. Whisper Sync works without any issues. The browsers that are supported are Chrome and Safari. Amazon is clearly addressing subscriptions early on the Android platform by deciding to make a cloud reader for Chrome.

With this new Kindle Cloud reader Amazon is able to keep it’s customers that have iPads happy while at the same time effectively cutting Apple out of the pie. This way of doing subscription business will be the new standard going forward. Wal-Mart has also taken a similar step with its Vudu movie service. The Vudu interface looks native to the iPad. It is easy to use and streams very well. The only question is when is Netflix going to jump onto this way of running its streaming. They could save 30% and maybe drop prices a little or at least add more content. I want Leverage back.

The word “AppStore” is fair to use by anyone so, says Judge

Apple’s request that Amazon stop using the word “Appstore”  has been rejected. I am very happy with that. Appstore is so generic that a win would have opened up the door to many more lawsuits.   Apple filed against Amazon in March. They said at that time that Amazon’s “Appstore” infringed on Apple’s “App Store” trademark. Amazon said that those claims were “baseless,” and Microsoft said something to that effect as well.  The Judge Phyllis Hamilton said that “The evidence does show that Apple has spent a great deal of money on advertising and publicity, and has sold/provided/furnished a large number of apps from its App Store,”

She goes on to say “However, there is also evidence that the term ‘app store’ is used by other companies as a descriptive term for a place to obtain software applications for mobile devices.” Thus  Apple’s use of the phrase “App Store” was “more descriptive than distinctive.” Microsoft and Apple are also fighting over the term — and Microsoft has said that the term “App Store” is “generic for retail store services featuring apps.” Apple’s case against Amazon is currently being heard by an appeals board.

Barnes & Noble’s New Nook: A step back or forward?

Barnes & Noble announced a new version of their e-reader. The tagline for it is “Nook, The Simple Touch Reader”. The price is set at $139, Wi-Fi-only and as the name states it will feature a 6 inch touch-enabled e-ink colorless display. You can get it starting June 10 in stores and pre-order right now.

Barnes & Noble took a clear shot at Amazon’s Kindle by stating that the Nook gets twice the battery life as “the other leading eReader available.” While getting more juice out of the device they still squeeze out 50% more contrast and 80% less flashing when turning pages than the Nook 1st Edition. Barnes & Noble now has 25% of the eReader market but this could help them get more.

CEO William Lynch. “Touch makes it simple to use, and the beautifully compact design makes it the most portable eReader in its class. Add to that an unmatched battery life, the most advanced paper-like touch display on the market and wireless access to the world’s largest digital bookstore, and we believe that for readers of all ages, the All-New NOOK is the best eReader on the market, and a great value at $139.”

At first it seems that Barnes is taking a step back with this new Nook. I mean The Nook Color sales very well and just received a software update adding apps, Adobe Flash and games. Many considered it better than the Kindle. Also at only $249 it was a nice second choice to the iPad. An SEC filing earlier this month leaked plans for a “new eReader device” on May 24.

All those that follow technology assumed Barnes would announce a new tablet with more power and features not a step back into a e-reader. We were wrong but this may work out for the best; still skip the “new” Nook and get the Nook Color instead.