Amazon Kindle = iPod of E-book Reader

Amazon.com unveiled its electronic-book reader Kindle to compete directly with Sony® Reader. Unlike Sony's electronic book reader, Kindle allows users to shop and download books from Amazon.com wirelessly via cellular network EV-DO. Books are priced at $9.99 or less. The reader itself will sell for $399.

One of the key issue users of the Sony Reader has is the lack of content, and Amazon.com definitely has content. You can not only download books, but also magazines and newspaper, which is a god-send. It also has a built-in dictionary and allows you to perform searches across your entire library. Sounds like a pretty smart business plan to me.

Design wise it's not as sweet as the Sony Reader, but I look forward to trying it out to see how its performance compares to Sony's, as the number one reason I did not buy the Sony Reader is because of its sluggish refresh rate.

WSJ Video: Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos tells WSJ's Jeffrey Trachtenberg the new Kindle is "designed for people who really love reading."

Source: The Wall Street Journal

Related News
+ CNET News.com: Amazon's Kindle vs. Sony's Reader

Related SML Universe
+ SML Wiki: Amazon

SML Copyright Notice
©2007 See-ming Lee 李思明 SML / SML Pro Blog / SML Universe. All rights reserved.

Bug Labs = Mindstorms for Super-Geeks

BUG is a collection of easy-to-use, open source hardware modules, each capable of producing one or more Web services. These modules snap together physically and the services connect together logically to enable users to easily build, program and share innovative devices and applications. With BUG, we don't define the final products - you do.
—Bug Labs: Products

BugLabs on YouTube
+ YouTube: Bug Labs: Beginnings - Episode A
+ YouTube: Bug Labs: BUG - Episode B

Technical Specifications

• ARM1136JF-S-based microprocessor
• 1 USB 2.0 HS host interface/4 hub port connections
• 1 USB OTG HS interface
• 4 UART serial links
• 4 channel SPI interface
• I2C (400 kbits) interface/4 channels
• I2S interface/2 channels
• Smart LCD interface
• Camera sensor interface
• Micro memory card interface
• MPEG4 hardware encoding/decoding
• Hardware graphic acceleration
• 10/100 Ethernet MAC
• 802.11b/g
• Base unit LCD module interface
• Base unit onboard memory (FLASH/DDR SDRAM)
• JTAG/ICE support
• Serial debug port
• Power system
• AC operation
• Battery operation/up to 4 external batteries
• Fast battery charging/simultaneous of internal and external batteries
• Smart power management support
• Battery-backed real-time clock
• Audio out via onboard piezo speaker

Pretty cool. Check it out!

SML Thank You
I would like to thank Alex Rainert (Google / SML Wiki) for sending this over :)

SML Copyright Notice
©2007 See-ming Lee 李思明 SML / SML Pro Blog / SML Universe. All rights reserved.

Nokia N810 = WiFi + 800x480 + GPS + video + QWERTY

Nokia N810 gets official

EnGadget: 2007-10-17: Handhelds

Source: Engadget

Specs

• Same 4.13-nch WVGA (800 x 480), 65k color display as the N800, brightness increased by ~20%
• GPS with particular focus on the "context sensitive web" via Ovi
• 2GB internal storage (not including memory cards), ships with maps for use with GPS
• Has WiFi (802.11b/g), does not have WiMAX
• Bluetooth (2.0+ EDR) DUNs to capable phones, totally Foleo-like
• 400MHz OMAP 2420 CPU, 128MB RAM, 256MB ROM
• Integrated frontal amera, ambient light sensor, mini USB 2.0, hardware lock switch
  
• Plays back video: 3GP, AVI, H.263, H.264, MP4, ASF, WMV, MPEG-1/4, Real video; audio: MP3, WMA, AAC, AMR, AWB, M4A, MP2, Real audio, WAV
• Battery life aimed at 4 hours of "typical use" (movies, music, internet access, etc.), 10 hours music only, and up to 2 weeks totally idle time, and 5 days active standby ("improved compared to previous generation devices")
• Runs Nokia's Linux Maemo interface (duh)
• 5 x 2.83 x 0.55-inches, 7.97 ounces
• Ships in November, $479

Related Engadget

• Nokia N810 hands-on
• Tag: N810

SML Copyright Notice

©2007 See-ming Lee 李思明 SML / SML Pro Blog / SML Universe. All rights reserved.

iPod Touch = iPod + Multi-touch + Wi-Fi + Widescreen

Source: Apple Unveils New iPods, Adds Wi-Fi, Touchscreen / WSJ

Apple (AAPL) released iPod Touch today. The new iPod has all the features of the iPhone except the crappy phone reception. Here are some highlights of the new iPod:

• Multi-touch. Like the iPhone, the iPod touch features a multi-touch interface for all the user controls.


• Accelerometer. The added accelerometer detects the rotation of the device and automatically adjust content to fit portrait / landscape orientation.


• 3.5-inch 480x320 163ppi display. The removal of the hardware interface provides new space to stuff a nice high-res widescreen display onto the unit.


• Wi-Fi Web Browser. The new iPod comes with WiFi (802.11 b/g) and comes with Safari so you can browse the web and watch your YouTube video.


• iTunes Wi-Fi Music Store. Because of the added Wi-Fi, you can now shop for new songs and add to your iPod wherever you have a Wi-Fi connection.


• Power and battery. iPod Touch is rated to play for up to 22 hours of audio or 5 hours of video when fully charged. 80% of battery charge capacity takes 1.5 hours. A full-charge takes about 3 hours.

The new iPod is scheduled to launch on September 28th, 2007. Pricing is very reasonable: 299 for the 8GB model, 399 for the 16GB model.

I hope that the new iPod will work with IM+ for Skype as well—a service that allows users to run Skype on the iPhone without paying for an AT+T's monthly plan. (The New Zealand Herald: Blog: Skype on the iPhone / 2007-08-15 / Telecommunications News)

Related News

• Gizmodo: First iPod Touch Video Hands On


• Portfolio.com: Apple Unveils New iPods


• Wall Street Journal: Apple Unveils New iPods, Adds Wi-Fi, Touchscreen


• Wired Blogs: Apple and Starbucks Ink WiFiDeal Via New iPod

SML Copyright Notice

Copyright 2007 See-ming Lee (SML Pro Blog). All rights reserved.