About.com Portable Entertainment

TwitterPeek Provides Twitter On The Go &mdash At A Price

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 07:12:40 +0000

Would you pay $199 for a gadget used only for tweeting?

That's what the makers of the TwitterPeek are banking on with the release of the Twitter-only portable device.

For the grand, old price of nearly two Benjamins, you can get the TwitterPeek with unlimited tweeting via the device's own mobile network.

"But wait, Jason," you say. "How can such a tiny little thing cost that much when a more complicated device such as an Xbox 360 starts at the same price? And please answer my question in 140 characters or less."

Great question. But I didn't stay at a Holiday Inn last night so I unfortunately can't answer it.

Now if $199 is too steep a price for you just to tweet on the go, Peek is also offering the device for $99. The catch is that you only get six months of free service, after which you have to pay $7.95 a month to use the portable Twitter device.

Either way, I could only see Twitter fanatics with no other access to portable tweeting going for this gadget. If that description fits you to a T, then you can check out the device at the official TwitterPeek site.

Photo � Peek

TwitterPeek Provides Twitter On The Go &mdash At A Price originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 07:12:40.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

The Limited Edition Beatles USB Stick

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 04:36:05 +0000

Disc-based media is so yesterday's news.

Fresh off the heels of the announcement by Kingston and Paramount about releasing full-feature movies on USB, Apple Corps. (no, not that Apple) has added a new product to The Official Beatles Shop: the Limited Edition Beatles USB Stick.

Hardcore Beatles fans may remember that Apple Corps. debuted the the Fab Four's digitally re-mastered catalog on CD on 9/9/09. This time, the company is releasing that same catalog via a more eminently portable USB drive.

Besides the Beatles' songs, folks who buy this stick will also get mini-documentary films, re-mastered "visual elements," original art, liner notes and rare pictures. All that will set your wallet back by $279.99.

Just make sure you don't let the stick be and have your kid or goofball roommate accidentally overwrite it while clearing up space to save a term paper. If you haven't backed up your data, then no amount of yelling "Help!" would rectify the situation.

Photo � Apple Corps.

The Limited Edition Beatles USB Stick originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Thursday, November 5th, 2009 at 04:36:05.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Barnes & Noble Sued Over Nook eBook Reader

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 05:22:10 +0000

It didn't seem long ago when Barnes & Noble was generating much hoopla following its launch party for the Nook eBook reader. But a recent lawsuit from another eBook maker could scuttle the debut of Barnes & Noble's fledgling Kindle rival.

Spring Design, the maker of the "Alex" eReader, alleges that Barnes & Noble "misappropriated trade secrets" and" violated the parties' non-disclosure agreement" by copying features of the Alex eBook into the Nook. The recent announcement of the Nook's features apparently caught Spring Design by surprise according to a statement that was e-mailed by the company.

In the statement, Spring Design states that the company has been meeting regularly with B&N executives since the beginning of 2009 to discuss the features, functionality and capabilities of the Android-powered Alex reader. Spring Design claims that B&N praised the Alex's features as "innovative" but never mentioned that they were using the very same features in the Nook. The dual-screen Alex has been in development since 2006.

"Spring Design unfortunately had to take the appropriate action to protect its intellectual property rights," said Eric Kmiec, Spring Design Vice President of Sales and Marketing. "We showed the Alex e-book design to Barnes & Noble in good faith with the intention of working together to provide a superior dual screen e-book to the market."

Spring Design also indicated that it hopes to resolve the issue soon and move forward from the ordeal. The company has been aiming to work closely with book store partners as a way to market its device &mdash one reason it approached B&N in the first place.

Photo � Barnes & Noble

Barnes & Noble Sued Over Nook eBook Reader originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Wednesday, November 4th, 2009 at 05:22:10.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Kingston, Paramount Provide Movies in a Flash

Tue, 03 Nov 2009 20:13:14 +0000

The announcement by Paramount and Kingston about releasing movies via flash memory got me thinking: Wouldn't it be cool if you could eventually rent movies the same way?

First, a quick background on the Kingston-Paramount deal. According to Kingston, the deal with Paramount allows full-length movies to be sold to consumers via USB drives and SD cards, providing another option for viewers besides DVD and Blu-Ray discs. According to Kingston, the move specifically targets people who watch movies via their computer or portable devices.

Which brings me to the rental concept. If you've ever tried to download video from Netflix, say, via an Xbox 360 or tried downloading a compressed HD movie from the Internet with the typical "high-speed" connection available in the U.S., then you know that it can take forever. Add bandwidth caps by certain providers that can lead to extra fees and Internet downloading suddenly isn't all that it's cut out to be for large movie files.

But if you can start downloading movies via USB or memory card using a system similar to the Redbox kiosks that are popping up everywhere, well, that actually sounds pretty nifty. I'm even OK with &mdash gasp &mdash a copy protection mechanism that makes movies no longer viewable after a certain "rental period" or set number of viewings.

Of course, flash memory-based movies won't be for everyone. But it certainly helps to have more options. I also think it would be sweet if file compatibility was implemented with devices such as the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 so you can view the movies on your TV. Otherwise, I guess you can just hook a laptop with an HDMI port to a high-def TV, which I often do to view movie files saved in my computer.

As someone who watches movies on my portable media player, my computer and my TV, flash memory downloads are something I wouldn't mind seeing. What about you?

Photo � Paramount

Kingston, Paramount Provide Movies in a Flash originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Tuesday, November 3rd, 2009 at 20:13:14.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Details on Coby Portable DVD Player Recall

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 19:45:29 +0000

Just in case you haven't heard, Coby Electronics &mdash in cooperation with the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission &mdash has issued a recall of its TF-DVD-8501 portable DVD player. Apparently, the rechargeable battery that came with the player poses a potential fire hazard. (What is it with batteries and fire hazards these days?)

According to the official release from the CPSC, there have been 10 reports of batteries overheating as of Oct. 22, including eight reports of fires that have resulted in property damage. The recall impacts about $19,600 devices. In case you have a Coby player and want to check, the serial number for the battery starts with the letters "HY."

This isn't the first time the company has had issues with the battery for its portable DVD players. Almost exactly a year ago, Coby had to do a similar recall for its TF-DVD 1020 player for the same reason. At the time, there were four reports of overheating, with three incidents resulting in minor property damage, according to another release from the CPSC.

For more info about the recall, call Coby at (877) 305-2629. You can also report an incident involving the device to the CPSC by going to https://www.cpsc.gov/cgibin/incident.aspx.

Photo from the CPSC

Details on Coby Portable DVD Player Recall originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Monday, November 2nd, 2009 at 19:45:29.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

iPhone Owners From Venus, BlackBerry Owners From Mars?

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 18:33:16 +0000

Ali vs. Frazier. Coke vs. Pepsi. Seinfeld vs. Newman.

Nothing stokes passion quite like a good, old rivalry. And in today's tech-crazy world, iPhone vs. BlackBerry is certainly a noteworthy clash among portable devices.

Which brings us to this Retrevo iPhone-BlackBerry survey. For this Gadgetology report, Retrevo decided to match up iPhone owners and BlackBerry owners against each other and see what makes them tick. For example, have you ever wondered which of the two is more likely to break up with their partners via phone? Well, scroll down below for the survey's findings.

Guys and gals: The long ball apparently isn't the only thing that chicks dig. Women outnumbered men as iPhone owners by 53 percent to 47 percent. Men, on the other hand, outnumbered women by a larger margin for BlackBerry ownership &mdash 59 percent to 41 percent. Must be all those dudes in corporate America.

Priorities, priorities: iPhone owners apparently find cool gadgets three times more attractive than a boring, old college degree while the reverse is true for BlackBerry owners. About 35 percent of iPhone owners also consider out-of-date gadgets owned by a potential romantic partner as a turn-off, compared to 29 percent for BlackBerry owners. At least the majority of folks on both sides are still sane on that front.

A matter of perspective: iPhone owners rated themselves higher as intellectuals, extroverts and media buffs than BlackBerrry owners rated themselves. Amusingly enough, partners of BlackBerry owners rated their significant others a bit higher in those areas compared to how partners of iPhone owners rated their own partners. Can you say flame bait?

Double standards? Although iPhone owners are more "addicted" to their phones, more of them are less forgiving of heavy smartphone use by their partners compared to BlackBerry owners. One in four iPhone owners have ended a relationship because their partner used their smartphone too much, compared to 17 percent for BlackBerry owners.

Now is it me or does it seem like more iPhone owners than BlackBerry owners come out looking like insufferable jerks in this survey? Then again, I always think surveys should be taken with a grain of salt, so I wouldn't take this stuff personally.

As for the early question about breakups by phone, the survey found that 33 percent of iPhone owners have broken up with someone "electronically" compared to 22 percent for BlackBerry owners. All I can say is, there must be an app for that.

Photo � Retrevo

iPhone Owners From Venus, BlackBerry Owners From Mars? originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Saturday, October 31st, 2009 at 18:33:16.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

What's Your Holiday Portable Wish List?

Fri, 30 Oct 2009 19:42:23 +0000

So Halloween's not even done yet and I'm already seeing Christmas displays go up. I swear the holidays seem to come earlier each year.

As I ruminate the many ways I'll likely go broke while buying gifts this year, my thoughts wander to just what kind of portable device I'd really like to get if given the choice. Do I want a new portable media player? Maybe an eBook reader would be nice. A portable battery pack for all the times that I'm on the road? Come to think of it, a GPS device would fit the bill nicely, too.

Whatever device I end up wanting, one thing's for sure: I definitely won't be getting it as a present from someone else.

Personally, I spend a lot of effort to stealthily figure out what my "targets" really like, so my presents end up being quite diverse. Last year, for example, gifts I gave out to loved ones included a Nintendo Wii, a laptop, a leather jacket, and a Coach handbag that made me wonder just what special cow was used to make a bag that expensive (the little thing was more expensive than the big jacket!).

I, on the other hand, got sweatshirts, sweatpants, sweaters and the same colorful pajamas I've been getting every year since I was 12. Apparently, certain relatives don't realize that I've gotten a lot taller since then. Still, I don't mind such presents since I actually like sweaters and sweatshirts and I haven't had to buy any new ones for years now thanks to my family.

The interesting thing for me, though, is just how intimidated my relatives are to give me anything electronic because they're afraid they'll get something that isn't good and they think I already have every gadget anyway. I'm sure a lot of folks feel exactly the same way. I, for one, have the hardest time picking presents for women, something I'm sure comes as no surprise for my fellow guys. Come to think of it, I'm sure that comes as no surprise to women either.

On that note, I figured it would be interesting to see what kind of devices people would like to get this year. What device would top your wish list this holiday season? Is there a particular device that you simply must have no matter what? What do you think is the hardest part about picking a present for someone?

Regardless, never forget that it's the thought that counts!

What's Your Holiday Portable Wish List? originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Friday, October 30th, 2009 at 19:42:23.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

Bridgestone Treading on Electronic Paper Displays

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 14:45:40 +0000

An electronic paper device isn't exactly what comes to mind when one hears the name of tire maker Bridgestone. But e-paper is exactly what the company had on display at the FPD International 2009 convention in Yokohama, Japan.

Bridgestone's "Quick Response - Liquid Powder Display" or QR-LPD features an electronic paperlike screen that can display color and is also flexible to boot. The device gets its name from the fact that it is has the characteristics of both liquid and powder, according to the company.

Of particular interest for portable gadget lovers is the fact that the device consumes very little power and was designed specifically for displaying static images. It also doesn't require a backlight and can be viewed under direct sunlight, Bridgestone says. I don't know about you but those sound like the ideal characteristics for a device like an eBook reader.

In fact, eBook reading is one of the applications for the device that Bridgestone lists on its QR-LPD site, along with displays for office presentations and at train stations, airports and supermarkets. Mankind has certainly gone a long way since the Egyptians first used papyrus. I can only imagine what kind of stuff we'll be seeing in 10 years.

Photo � Bridgestone

Bridgestone Treading on Electronic Paper Displays originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 14:45:40.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

What Would You Pay For an Apple Tablet?

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 15:37:11 +0000

Can Apple catch lightning in a bottle a third time?

With talk about Apple's oft-rumored tablet reaching a fever pitch, the question now is whether demand for such a device can match all the buzz currently surrounding it. Apple has certainly established a great track record with its iPod and iPhone line. But for any Apple tablet to gain the same kind of across-the-board market share, it will have to hit a sweet spot in terms of price, according to Retrevo's Gadgetology report.

So far, rumors point to an $800 price tag for the Apple tablet, according to Retrevo. But any prospective tablet from Apple has to be priced around $600 or less in order to attract interest from 64 percent of the non-Mac faithful (for Mac fanatics, that would be the unwashed masses known as PC users).

Unsurprisingly, Mac users &mdash who are used to paying a premium for Apple's devices &mdash are a more forgiving lot when it comes to price. About 68 percent of them said they're willing to pay more than $600 to take a bite at an Apple tablet.

So what would you be willing to pay for a tablet courtesy of Mr. Jobs?

Photo � Retrevo

What Would You Pay For an Apple Tablet? originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 15:37:11.

Permalink | Comment | Email this

NPR Radio Gets Literal

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 16:01:44 +0000

There's NPR radio. And then there's NPR Radio &mdash as in an actual device named NPR Radio. (Does that make it National Public Radio ... Radio?)

If you're an NPR fan, then you might want to check out Livio's "The NPR Radio," which provides listeners access to more than 1,000 NPR station streams along with hundreds of NPR podcasts and audio archives. Worldly individuals might also be interested to hear that the radio is Reciva Internet Radio-enabled, providing access to more than 16,000 stations around the globe.

The device gives owners the option for both a wireless and wired Internet connection, and can update itself without hooking up to a computer. At $199, the price tag may sound a bit steep for a radio. But broke college students and folks on a tight budget will be happy to know that all the programming you get is free. Part of the sales proceeds from the device also go toward supporting NPR stations and programming.

You can check out the device at the NPR shop or the Livio site .

Photo � Livio

NPR Radio Gets Literal originally appeared on About.com Portable Entertainment on Saturday, October 24th, 2009 at 16:01:44.

Permalink | Comment | Email this