Amazon has officially announced the release of the Kindle 2, and all of the new features it promises.
We mentioned over the weekend that it looked like Amazon was set to release the Kindle 2 today, and right on cue, they did. So were there enough changes to make it a worthy upgrade for owners of the first version? Are there enough features to make those sitting on the fence finally pick one up? Lets take a look.
The most notable change is that all of the odd angles are gone. All we can is thank goodness for that. The original Kindle was not the most physically attractive gadget, but it still got the job done. This one is a lot more rounded, and a looks a lot less like a 1980′s cell phone. It’s super thin at only .36 inches thick, which brings it at even thinner than the iPhone. It only weighs in at 10.2 ounces, which is actually lighter than the original version.
As for what is inside the device, well the memory got an upgrade from 256MBs of memory to 2GBs, meaning it can now hold up to 1500 books. It can also now “turn” pages 20% faster then the previous version. It is also now sporting a 3G connection so that you can download a new book anytime, anywhere. They have also added a text-to-voice feature which will allow the Kindle 2 to read to you so that you can do other things at the same time, but people who have heard the voice say it would get old pretty quickly.
I think the biggest let down is in the screen. The previous version’s screen had 4 shades of gray, and the new one has upped that to 16 shades. While a nice increase, one still has to wonder where the color screen is. True, colors would make the battery drain faster, and this one’s battery does last 25% longer than the original, but until this goes color, I just don’t see it being much more than a niche product.
The device will be available on February 24th, and will sell for $359.00
It appears that Amazon is about to release the second version of their popular ebook reader, the Kindle.
The first Kindle was released on November 19th, 2007, while they have been sold out most of the time since they were released, and it is estimated Amazon sold 500,000 units in 2008, they have gotten to be a popular item due to their usability, and being endorsed by Oprah. While people have gotten use to frequent updates of products, and people kept expecting an update priror to the holiday 2008 shopping season, Amazon seemed to be taking a more reasoned approach to releasing a second version of the device.
Over the weekend pictures appeared on Engadget that purported to be the second version of the Kindle, and while they looked to be fairly official, there was no word from Amazon. That changed later in the day and it was announced they would be officially launching the product on Monday at a press event. While no details have been released on what the new technical specs will be, it appears the price will be the same as the original release, $359.00.
While a new version is always exciting to see what upgrades it will have, lets contain our excitement until we see if they can keep it in stock for more than a day at a time.
If you haven’t heard of the RRoD before, consider yourself lucky. It seems to be a phenomenon that mainly strikes the earlier generations of the console where three of the four green lights around the power button turn red, indicating an unrecoverable error has occurred. The only option once this happens is to send the console back to Microsoft for repairs, and this can run you as much as $100 if you are out of warranty.
Earlier this week Microsoft sent out a firmware update to consoles that you were reuired to download before you could get to whatever game you were looking to play. According to Mike Ferro of Gamer.BLORGE.com, reports are coming in that this is causing a whole new round of RRoD failures. The problem had been diminishing more and more as of late, but the rate of reports seems to indicate that owners of the popular console still aren’t completely free of the issue.
If you are unfortunate enough to encounter this issue, you need to contact Xbox Support as soon as possible, and then be prepared to be without your console for several weeks while it ships to them, gets fixed and ships back to you.
Gmail is back with yet another new feature, and this time it is an information junkies’ dream.
While we have already seen offline support for Gmail last week, according to the Official Gmail Blog, they already have another exciting feature for all of us: multiple inboxes. The concept is simple in that by activating this new feature in Labs, where all the good stuff seems to hide, you will now have multiple panes in your inbox, saving you a lot of time from having to switch windows for looking up information.
While the above picture makes the layout seem a bit crowded, once you have it open, you will see it isn’t that bad. I switched to it this evening, and I already love it. To try it out, go to the “Settings” tab in the top right corner of the Gmail window, then select the “Labs” tab, locate the “Multiple Inboxes” option, choose “Enable” and then scroll to the bottom of the page to click on “Save Changes”. Within minutes you will be enjoying the whole new look.
Google is on an unbelievable tear with new products and enhancements, and while we never meant for StarterTech to focus this heavily on Google, it is hard to ignore that they are leading the technology development field right now.
Google Chrome looks to be set to finally be getting extensions.
According to Google Operating System, a recent document announcing a developers conference for included the following blurb about a seminar focused on Chrome.
“Learn how Google Chrome makes it easy to write extensions using the web technologies you already know. This talk will cover the basics of the extension system (distribution/packaging, installation, updates), as well as the different APIs to enhance with the browser.”
We have been saying since Google Chrome launched that the lack of extensions was keeping us from switching to it for all of our work. Since this seminar is scheduled for May 27th, it looks like we can safely say we will have extensions by this summer.
Ever wondered where your friends and family were at any given time? Well, now, thanks to Google, you can see where they are any time you feel like it.
Google is continuing on their march to release as many new products as possible it seems, and the newest toy is Google Latitude. This new tool was announced by the Official Goggle Blog this morning, and it works with Google Maps version 3.0 for mobile phones (list of supported phones here), and accesses your built-in GPS to help you see which of your connections are around you, and also allow others to check up on you. You can then use mobile phones and web browsers to see where the people you have connected with are at any time.
While this may all sound scary, Latitude gives you a lot of control over how information is shared. You can connect with someone and share no data, just let them know the city you are in, or let them see all of the details. You can also set yourlocation by hand if you like, so your spouse doesn’t need to see you stopped off for a drink after work. The other good news is Google stores no data about where you have been, and only has the data of your latest transmission.
While geolocation services like Brightkite have become popular, it was a bit of a pain as you have to update it by hand when you change locations. With Latitude, it is all done behine the scenes via your phone’s GPS. You also can think of the possible uses like my family travels a lot, and as I type this, they are driving to Texas. Well, now I can look any time I want as to where they are, and if they should get in an accident, I would know where to send help. What if your phone gets stolen? Follow it!
Overall, I’m impressed, but I don’t plan to share my data with very many people. For more information, check out the video below.
In a non-too-shocking move, Skype has launched an updated version of their software for Windows. We say it isn’t too surprising since Mac users recently got a new version, but what is surprising is that the Windows version is lacking the much loved screen sharing support that Macs got. Perhaps this will be in a future update?
Ignoring that little nit pick, the new version of the software does deliver in some much needed approvements such as improved call quality. They are reportedly accomplishing this via a built-in bandwidth manager that will attempt to give you the best settings possible. They also say the video quality has been improved due to this for video calls, but still recommend you be on a 400 kb/s connection with a high quality webcam for the best results. There is one caveat to this improved quality in that their blog post on the subject mentions”compatible hardware”, but gives you no clue to what exactly that is.
The most notable, and immediate difference is the change to the user interface (UI). You can still select the compact view most people are used to, but the new UI does feel a lot more spacious and gives you more controls.
The last major improvement istabbed conversations and calls that make it easier for you to switch back and forth, and also hold multiple conversations at once. Not something I have ever found to be that necessary, but it is now included.
You can download the latest version of the software here, and let us know if you do see marked improvements. With the persistant rumors that eBay may be looking to sell off Skype, it will be interesting to see if this has any effect on the online auction company changing their mind, or just simply looking to make a better deal.
Google Earth has released a new version, and Google has added the ability to explore the planet’s oceans.
Although Google has already made their product Earth able to show you satellite imagery of the entire planet, and later allowed you to explore space, now they have turned their eye to below the surface of the oceans. Through a mixture of topographical data, videos from various sources and 3D data, you can now explore every corner of the planet.
Other new features include the ability to look at various locations over time, even pre-dating the launch of satellites, exploring a 3D Mars, and the ability to record explorations you make with Google Earth so that you can share them with other users. Due to these numerous updates, they decided not to number this version 4.3, and instead went directly to 5.0. You can read more about the new features at the Official Google Blog, and you can also check out the video below that shows the new features in greater detail.
Yet another month has passed for StarterTech and our readers. As we do on the first of each month, it’s time we look back at which posts caught your attention the most in the previous month.
Hudson River Landing Game Sweeps The Internet -This post was our last post of the month and soared to number 1 somehow. Apparently people were really interested in playing a game of Flight 1549, the Miracle on the Hudson.
How To Protect Your Child On Facebook -Always an important idea to protect your child while they are online, but the basic argument can always be made that the first step always starts with the preventive steps you take as a family.
How Phishers May Be The End Of Twitter -After several days of phishing attacks on Twitter, it was easy to wonder how this might lead to the trust the company had built might be completely lost.
It’s Time To Change Your Browser -After launching the new design for this site, it was Internet Explorer 6 that gave us troubles with fixing design problems. Considering the age of that browser, it is amazing how many people still use it considering all the alternatives that now exist.
Amazon has officially announced the release of the Kindle 2, and all of the new features it promises.
Xbox 360 owners seem to be facing a new round of the 
Ever wondered where your friends and family were at any given time? Well, now, thanks to 
Yet another month has passed for 
