Tuesday, May 24, 2011

Android Phone Fans

Android Phone Fans

Androidify + Kinect = Fun [Video]

Posted: 24 May 2011 06:56 PM PDT

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Its that time again! Time for another great Android video from around the interwebs. This time, featuring a funky dance video of John from Larva Labs doing his thang after Androidifying his Kinect and dancing next to his Android doppelganger.

If you aren’t familiar with Larva Labs, these guys are the creative team behind the explosively popular and well polished Androidify app on the Android Market. The app lets you customize your very own Android character to share with friends or save as a contact on your phone. Brilliant work. And great moves, John…. for a white boy.

[Via Phantips]

HTC Reviewing Locked Bootloader Policy – Can We Really Make a Difference?

Posted: 24 May 2011 06:06 PM PDT

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Remember that whole locked/signed/encrypted bootloader fiasco that’s been flying around the internets in regards to HTC’s upcoming Sensation and Evo 3D? This has lead a very vocal few to completely denounce the Taiwanese company and even incite a mass exodus onto other devices. Specifically, those made by LG who is now being called “the new HTC” by some in the Android community.

Well, if you’re friends with HTC on Facebook, they updated their status today to address this issue. Although, it may not sound like much, its at least an awknowledgement that they are in fact, listening to their customers’ feedback. Of course, we all know doing something about it is another story.

Thanks so much for providing feedback, we hear your concerns. Your satisfaction is a top priority for us and we’re working hard to ensure you have great experiences with our phones. We’re reviewing the issue and our policy around bootloaders and will provide more information soon. Thank you for your interest, support and willingness to share your feedback.

Last time I checked, it was the carriers and their iron fists coming down on OEM’s and forcing them to lock up their phones (and keep you from unauthorized tethering). And last time I checked, the Android modding community only accounted for about 2% of total Android devices sold. Pretty small number.

So what do you guys think? Could this be nothing more than a marketing strategy by HTC to calm down and pacify the Android modding community before the release of their 2 biggest handsets this year? Does HTC locking down their bootloaders affect your decision at all to buy one of their upcoming devices?

Oh – and if you feel like making a greater impact, there’s even a petition floating around if you think it will make a difference. Also, feel free to “like” their statement on Facebook. At least we know HTC is listening… right?

Thanks to everyone who sent this in!

[Via HTC on Facebook]

Sony Throws Minecraft Launch Party Exlusively for The Xperia Play

Posted: 24 May 2011 05:05 PM PDT

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Okay, I’m going to try my hardest to hold in my excitement for this rest of this post but this — is all win. If one of your favorite past times is gaming (like me) you would know that every year there is a huge gaming convention in Los Angeles called the Electronics Entertainment Expo – or, as we in “the biz” call it, E3. Video game developers from all around the globe gather to share off their latest wares, among them being the big 3 – Microsoft, Nintendo, And Sony.

And it looks like the latter will be throwing a nice little after hours party to show off their newest venture, the Sony Ericsson Xperia Play Thanks to Kotaku, we’re able to see exactly what the invite looks like and lo and behold, its themed to the teeth with clues as to what they may be unveiling. I got 3 words for you: Mine-freakin’-craft.

If you’re unfamiliar with this game, its an indie game for the computer that in it’s short time out, has grown to mythic proportions taking over the lives of almost anyone who dares to experience its majesty. Its long been known that the developer had planned to bring the indie smash hit to iOS and Android but it looks like Sony may have managed to get the exclusive ahead of Apple and even ahead of other Android devices (how’s that for fragmentation).

So if you love Android and you’re serious about gaming, could the possibility of Minecraft sway any Verizon customers who were maybe on the fence on the Xperia Play? If this exclusive is any clue, it looks like Sony is going full force with the Xperia Play and I’m already expecting more surprises at E3 this year.

Oh- and don’t forget, yours truly will be on hand at E3 the first week of June, representing for Phandroid and armed with my trusty camera to bring you guys all of the latest and greatest in mobile gaming. Its going to be a great week, peoples!

[Via Kotaku]

Exclusive: Sprint’s Motorola Phone to be Called the Motorola Photon 4G, Early Details Inside

Posted: 24 May 2011 04:24 PM PDT

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We’ve long heard Sprint would be getting an Atrix-like device of their own from Motorola. We had no idea when they’d introduce it and what it’d look like. Today, we have more details. The device is said to be closer to the Motorola DROID X and X2 as far as size goes, meaning we can probably expect to see a device that’s 4.3 inches in size. We can also expect it to have a qHD display and a Tegra 2 processor inside, at the least. And those lovely 4G radios, of course.

The preliminary hardware specs were obvious, but we didn’t have anything as far as a name goes. We’ve received word that the device will indeed be called the Motorola Photon 4G. Doing a bit more digging, it appears the Photon received WiFi certification back in April. Its model number will be MB855 on Sprint.

We’re hearing a release could be sometime within the next month or two with an announcement coming shortly, but nothing is yet final. We haven’t been able to uncover FCC documents, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it isn’t ready to go on sale here in the United States. OEMs often ask for confidentiality up to a certain amount of days.

So what say you, folks? Will you fall in line for what is essentially Sprint’s version of the Motorola Droid X2 Let’s hope we find out more details in the weeks to come.

Apps of the Day: Bully Block, Wisp & More

Posted: 24 May 2011 03:51 PM PDT

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Today is a game-filled affair, but that’s cool – we all like to take a break with some nice visuals and challenging tasks from time to time. We’ve picked out the best applications we’ve come across today and urge you to at least check them out. Most of them are free or have lite versions, so don’t hesitate to hit “install” if one truly interests you. And if you have more suggestions, be sure to let us know below!

Bully Block - If you are constantly being hounded by telemarketers, a crazy ex, or an obsessed stalker, Bully Block is the app for you. As the name implies, the app blocks so-called “bullies” from being able to contact you. You can assign numbers to your block list, block SMS and/or calls from certain numbers, or even set up an auto-response text message politely asking the would-be harasser to cease further contact. Features that allow you to report malicious behavior and even capture a recording of offending calls could come in handy if your bully problem is a bit more serious. The app is $1.29 in the market now. [Market]

Math Madness – If you want to get your kid a head start in learning math, download Math Madness for them. If you yourself need a quick refresher on the basics, download Math Madness. This thing won’t reteach you calculus or help you on that trigonometry test, but if you haven’t crunched numbers for a while it’s a nice, refreshing way to get your brain moving again. And unlike our expensive college system here in the United States, this application is free. [Market]

Walkabout – Walkabout is a great puzzler that sees you trying to collect stars and a key to get through each level. The catch? As you move from tile to tile, the earth beneath you will disappear. The concept is simple, but as you may already know, games like these get increasingly difficult as each level is thrown at you. There are a decent amount of levels, the music is pleasing, and the graphics don’t hurt my eyes. What more could you want in a game? They are offering a lite version with 24 levels for free, but a full version will net you 72 levels. [Market - Lite | Full]

Wisp - Need to relax during a break or after a long day of work? Download Wisp. There aren’t many puzzle games that serve as nerve soothers or relaxants, but when they do come along, you won’t want to pass it up. The music is relaxing, the graphics are beautiful and easy on the eyes, and the game lets you play at your own pace so that you’re not racing to finish a level (which would defeat the purpose of relieving stress). The lite version acts as a prologue to the full version so download the free on first and insert your $1.10 into the machine for the full version if you like it. (The full version also comes with OpenFeint support.) [Market - Lite | Full]

 

TigerDirect has the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer in Stock [Hurry!]

Posted: 24 May 2011 02:42 PM PDT

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It’s that time again folks. Many of you finally got a chance to buy the ASUS Eee Pad Transformer from Best Buy when they made a relatively large amount of units available, but we know a few of you couldn’t get in on the fun right away. Best Buy’s stock has since been depleted, but another knight in shining armor comes to save the day – TigerDirect. Their offering is a bit more expensive than the MSRP, but that’s because they bundle it with other things.

The 16GB model comes with an HDMI cable and a screen cleaning kit, while the 32GB model comes with headphones and an 8GB microSD card. They cost $430 and $580 respectively. Yea, it’s a bit more than what other retailers want for it, but considering how hard it’s been to find one of these we can’t imagine you folks won’t bite the bullet. Go ahead, get one before they run out. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Google & Sprint Gearing Up to Launch NFC Payments Program May 26th?

Posted: 24 May 2011 01:20 PM PDT

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Get that rumor mill spinnin’, boy! The latest is from Bloomberg who cites three unnamed sources familiar with Google’s plans to unveil a new NFC payments service on May 26th. And I bet you already know which carrier they’re partnering up with here in the United States. Yep, you guessed it – Sprint.

After competitors Verizon, AT&T and T-Mobile teamed up with ISIS for NFC payments, Google was left with only one choice out of the 4 biggest carriers. It’ll be an interesting race to watch as Google and Sprint take on what we assume will be a bigger force.

Also interesting is how Google was the one who spear-headed the NFC movement here in the United States but couldn’t seem to grab the interest of three of the nation’s biggest carriers. We’re fairly positive they had mobile payments in mind when introducing the Nexus S and Android 2.3, and we’re fairly positive they wanted many of the US’ providers to be on in it .

It makes us wonder why the other three carriers didn’t opt to join Google or, conversely, why Sprint didn’t opt to join ISIS. They were all obviously contacted by ISIS to get the ball rolling. I can’t imagine ISIS didn’t reach out to Sprint.

Sprint held out and are now joining forces with Google for NFC payments – they must’ve known of Google’s plans at the same time they knew of ISIS’. And just as I can’t imagine ISIS didn’t reach out to Sprint, I can’t imagine Google didn’t reach out to the other big three carriers here in the states.

We’ll never know why the carriers decided to side with who they sided with, but at least all of them are putting their eggs into the NFC basket. We’ll be anticipating details to come on May 26th. Sprint and Google are said to first trial the service in Chicago, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Washington D.C. [Bloomberg]

Verizon Announces Even More New Cities and Expansions for LTE for June 16th (Including Massive Wisconsin Launch)

Posted: 24 May 2011 12:06 PM PDT

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Nope, Verizon wasn’t done. While the list we’re presenting you with today is a bit smaller than the expansions they detailed a couple of days ago, it’s still quite good. (Especially for me. Any fellow Southeastern Wisconsin residents out there?) So who else can look forward to some lightning fast data on June 16th?

  • Milwaukee, WI (woot!); Racine, WI; Madison, WI; Wisconsin Dells, WI; Kenosha, WI; Mequon, WI; More Southeastern Wisconsin cities here. (There are a ton.)
  • Salt Lake City, UT
  • Boise, ID
  • Fresno, CA; San Francisco Bay area (expansion), CA; Sacramento, CA
  • Spokane, WA

Like I said, not as big as the initial list we reported on, but still just as sweet and adds to an already huge list. Mark June 16th on your calendar as 4G day, folks.

Seeeduino Gives You an Affordable ADK for Android Open Accessory Development

Posted: 24 May 2011 11:40 AM PDT

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Didn’t want to shell out $400 for Google’s official Android Open Accessory ADK? Yea, we thought it was a bit steep, too. The folks at Seeed Studios, however, are looking to provide developers and engineers with a cheap ADK (price, can’t vouch for quality) as they’ll soon be offering the Seeeduino ADK board for $80. They say it’s 100% compatible with Google’s own ADK so it should be the first product to consider for developers on a tight budget. Pre-order yours at Seeed’s site now and expect it to ship on June 20th. Here’s hoping you folks create some awesome things using it! [Reddit]

Best Buy’s ASUS Eee Pad Transformer Stock Now Depleted

Posted: 24 May 2011 11:17 AM PDT

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You had to guess that it wouldn’t last long, folks – Best Buy is now sold out of the Eee Pad Transformer. It definitely was the longest running source as other retailers couldn’t put it up for a minute without being bum rushed for their stock. ASUS says they’ll be ramping up production in June and should be able to fully meet demand by July. Just stay on the lookout for more opportunities to buy this thing and be sure to let us know if you find any. [Thanks Mike!]

Sonos Launches MOG Service, Update to Android App Forthcoming

Posted: 24 May 2011 10:47 AM PDT

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The folks at Sonos have just announced MOG, their music on demand and radio station service that gives you access to more music than you could probably fit on whatever hard drive you’re using. With its launch must come an upgrade to their controller app for Android, of course, but we have yet to see the upgrade issued. One it’s live, you can take MOG for a spin for free for two weeks. If you like it, keep it – it’s only $10 a month afterward. Trek over here to get started. Oh, and you can get 20% off of an S5 setup if you bundle it with a MOG subscription and a ZoneBridge. More details about that are here. Read on for full press details.

SANTA BARBARA, Calif and BERKELEY, Calif - May 24, 2011 - Sonos, the leading developer of wireless music systems for the home, today announced another step in providing access to all the music on earth with the addition of the MOG music service to the award-winning Sonos music experience. Beginning today, Sonos customers can enjoy a high-quality, on-demand listening experience from MOG all over their home. All Sonos customers in the United States will receive a free 14-day trial of MOG on Sonos.

In addition, Sonos and MOG have teamed up to offer a special bundle with a Sonos S5, Sonos ZoneBridge and one-year MOG subscription - saving music fans 20% on their purchase. For more information on this limited time promotion, visit www.sonos.com/MOGBundle.

"Our goal at Sonos is to provide music lovers with access to all the music on the planet," said John MacFarlane, CEO, Sonos, Inc. "By offering MOG to our customers, we’re providing an incredible, high-quality listening experience in the living room or any room of the home."

"Sonos products are absolutely best-of-breed and their customers expect great sound when accessing their music from their own library or streaming music from a service like MOG," said David Hyman, CEO of MOG. "Our goal is to deliver the best music listening experience by making it fast and easy for music lovers to listen to any song, at the highest quality, from virtually anywhere--in the car, on the computer, on their phone, and now in any room with Sonos."

With MOG’s award-winning music service on Sonos, music fans can enjoy the following features in any room of the home:

High-quality audio: MOG on Sonos features the highest quality audio streams at 320kbps.

MOG artist radio: Customize radio stations on the fly by choosing true “artist only” radio or a full mix of similar artists.

On-demand music: Unlimited, anytime, ad-free listening to any artist or full album from MOG’s 11-million song library.

Simple searching and browsing, designed for the palm of the hand: MOG provides simple navigation of albums and artists, and easy browsing of New Releases, Chart Toppers, Editors’ Picks and playlists created by recording artists for instant playing right from any Sonos Controller.

MOG offers all new and existing US Sonos customers a 14-day free trial after which users can upgrade to MOG’s Primo subscription plan for $9.99 per month. Simply go to www.MOG.com/Sonos to register for the free trial. MOG Primo provides music fans with unlimited access to MOG on Sonos, with additional access online at MOG.com, and through the MOG app on iPhone and Android phones, all via a single MOG account.

For more information about Sonos or to locate an authorized Sonos dealer in your area, please visit www.sonos.com or call 877.80.SONOS.

About Sonos, Inc.
Sonos® is the leading developer of wireless multi-room music systems for the home. The Sonos Multi-Room Music System is the first, wireless multi-room music system that lets you play all the music you want all over your house - and control it all from the palm of your hand. Sonos liberates the music stored on a computer so it can be enjoyed all over the house. In addition, by partnering with audio services like iheartradio, Last.fm, MOG, Napster®, Pandora®, , Rdio®, Rhapsody®, SiriusXM Internet Radio, Spotify, TuneIn, Wolfgang’s Vault, and more, Sonos gives music lovers instant, computer-free access to millions of songs, thousands of radio stations, audiobooks, and more. The award-winning Sonos Multi-Room Music System is available at more than 6200 retailers in over 65 countries worldwide; or direct from Sonos at www.sonos.com. Sonos is a privately-held company, headquartered in Santa Barbara, CA with offices in Cambridge, MA, Hilversum, Netherlands and Penang, Malaysia.

© 2004-2011 by Sonos Inc. All rights reserved. Sonos is a Registered trademark of Sonos, Inc. in the U.S. and other countries with pending trademark registrations worldwide. SonosNet, ZonePlayer, ZoneBridge and all Sonos logos are trademarks of Sonos Inc. in the United States and other countries. All other products and services may be trademarks or service marks of their respective owners.

About MOG
MOG Inc. is a next-generation music media company founded in June 2005 by David Hyman, former CEO for Gracenote. MOG’s all-you-can-eat, on-demand listening service provides access to a vast library of over 11 million songs and over one million albums through its mobile apps on iPhone and Android phones, online, and on streaming entertainment devices. MOG Inc. is also the provider of The MOG Music Network (MMN), the premier destination for music content online and largest music focused advertising network consisting of over 1500 music sites, reaching nearly 40 million people each month.

LG Revolution Launch Nears as Promotional Materials Arrive In-Store

Posted: 24 May 2011 09:00 AM PDT

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The latest rumors suggest the LG Revolution could be launching this Thursday, May 26th. While this has yet to be officially confirmed, promotional materials arriving in-store suggest that a release is indeed write around the corner. Materials include dummy units of the phone and accompanying display stands.

If the phone is to launch this week, expect an announcement soon. Otherwise, we’ll have to keep guessing when we might see the next 4G LTE phone for Verizon.

[via AndroidCentral]

Court Orders Samsung to Show Apple Unreleased Handsets, Tablets

Posted: 24 May 2011 08:22 AM PDT

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As part of the ongoing litigation between Apple and Samsung over accusations that the latter company blatantly ripped off design elements of the iPhone and iPad, a judge has ruled that Samsung present five of its upcoming Android products to Apple. The suit originally alleged that the Nexus S Epic 4G, Galaxy S 4G, and Galaxy Tab infringed upon the intellectual property of Apple, and as the case moves forward Samsung must present Apple with the Galaxy S2, Galaxy Tab 8.9, Galaxy Tab 10.1, Infuse 4G, and Droid Charge. The judge is citing “expedited discovery” in order to give Apple a chance to decide whether or not to file a preliminary injunction.

The decision doesn’t outright side with Apple, but it does give the company a chance to review Samsung’s new lineup and decide if future products fall within the realm of this lawsuit.  The judge is protecting Samsung’s right to competitive advantage by restricting access to the devices to “outside counsel only.” Steve Jobs, Apple’s engineers and internal lawyers won’t have access to the new designs.

[via Gizmodo]

Barnes & Noble Announces New Nook with Touchscreen E-Ink Display, 2 Month Battery Life

Posted: 24 May 2011 07:43 AM PDT

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Today at a New York City press event, Barnes & Noble unveiled the latest in their successful line of Nook e-readers. After dishing out some self praise for the runaway success that is the NOOKcolor, calling it the “best selling Android tablet in the US,” CEO William Lynch revealed an all-new touchscreen Nook featuring the very same E-Ink display utilized by the freshly announced touchscreen Kobo e-reader. The display here is 6-inches in size and nary a physical button to be found. B&N has also worked hard to reduce “flashing” during page turns.

Yes, its software is based on Android 2.1, and this new Nook also boasts an impressive two-month battery life, which wowed many in the audience at today’s event. The WiFi e-reader ships with 2GB of internal storage, which will hold up to 1,000 books. This memory is expandable (by microSD) to 32GB. The whole kit and caboodle will retail for $140, the same price as Amazon’s non-subsidized WiFi Kindle. The new Nook is available now for pre-order online and in-store, and will hit shelves on June 10th.

Barnes & Noble Introduces The All-New NOOK™, The Simple Touch Reader™

NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller, today expanded its bestselling digital reading offering with the All-New NOOK, The Simple Touch Reader. With a full touchscreen, NOOK™ features record-setting, extra-long battery life on the easiest-to-use, ultra-light, portable 6-inch eReader with the most-advanced E Ink Pearl display, and the world’s largest bookstore available by Wi-Fi®. Now available for pre-order at www.nook.com and at Barnes & Noble stores for just $139, NOOK will begin shipping on or about June 10. Barnes & Noble adds the All-New NOOK, a significant leap forward in the dedicated eReader category, to a product line that includes the bestselling NOOK Color™, the only Reader’s Tablet™. Based on the success of the NOOK product line, combined with focus on the absolute best reading experience, Barnes & Noble now claims more than 25 percent of the digital book market - just 18 months after launching NOOK 1st Edition™.

Barnes & Noble has always recognized the simplicity and ease that the element of touch brings to its NOOK product line, and the All-New NOOK is no exception. With a simple tap to the 6-inch touchscreen, it’s intuitive and easy to navigate, shop and read. Customers can look up words, highlight passages, adjust the font size and style or search by typing on the responsive on-screen keyboard that appears only when a customer needs it. The paper-like E Ink display features crisp, clear text that’s great for reading anywhere, even in bright sunlight. The no-glare display offers 50 percent more contrast than NOOK 1st Edition.

At only 7.48 ounces (212 grams), the artfully designed All-New NOOK is lightweight and thin - 35 percent lighter and 15 percent thinner than NOOK Wi-Fi 1st Edition™. Lighter than a paperback, NOOK’s sleek but durable, compact design (6.5 inches high by 5 inches wide by 0.47 inches deep) makes it easy to fit in a jacket, pocket, purse or backpack, holding up to 1,000 digital books and more personal content using the expandable memory slot. Its ergonomic, contoured design with a soft-touch back makes it easy and comfortable to read, even with just one hand, and for extended periods of time. And thanks to best-in-class battery life, read for up to 2 months on a single charge with Wi-Fi off - that’s twice as long as the other leading eReader available.

Barnes & Noble’s use of the latest-generation E Ink screen and proprietary technology offers unmatched performance on the All-New NOOK, delivering a seamless and immersive reading experience. NOOK offers 80 percent less flashing than other eReaders - whether turning pages, browsing for books or scrolling through your library. Page turns are lightning fast, using the touchscreen or well-placed side buttons, and with the new Fast Page™ feature, just press and hold a side button to quickly scan through content and skip right to the desired section.

"We set out to design the easiest-to-use, most optimized, dedicated reading device ever created and accomplished it with the All-New NOOK," said William Lynch, Chief Executive Officer of Barnes & Noble. "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."

The World’s Largest Bookstore in Your Pocket

With the All-New NOOK, customers can enjoy a wide variety of digital content, all at their fingertips. Shop for everything from new releases and current bestsellers to classics and more, all in a single search. The NOOK Bookstore™ offers one of the most expansive digital catalogs of more than two million books, magazines and newspapers. Enjoy helpful recommendations from Barnes & Noble’s experts, personalized based on customers’ favored authors and genres, to decide what to read next. Have more than 80 popular national and local market newspapers and magazines from the NOOK Newsstand™ automatically delivered to NOOK the moment they’re released, including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and USA TODAY, as well as Forbes, Reader’s Digest, Discover, Fast Company and New York magazine. All periodicals are available for subscription with a 14-day free trial or via single copies.

Most NOOK Books™ are $9.99 or less, including most of The New York Times Bestsellers, plus there’s over a million free classics. Enjoy more than 100,000 titles from independent publishers and self-publishing authors using Barnes & Noble’s PubIt!™ digital publishing platform. Young readers will find more than 12,000 NOOK Kids™ chapter books in Barnes & Noble’s world’s largest collection of digital children’s content. Sample NOOK Book titles for free and download all content wirelessly over a Wi-Fi connection in just seconds.

When customers visit Barnes & Noble stores with their All-New NOOK, the shopping and reading experience gets even better. Connect to free and fast Wi-Fi and browse complete NOOK Books for free through the company’s innovative Read In Store™ program and get exclusive content and special promotions through the More In Store™ program. NOOK customers receive access at more than 24,000 AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots, as well as other personal and public hotspots to browse, buy and download new content wirelessly.

Get Social with NOOK Friends

Another way NOOK customers can learn more about great books is through NOOK Friends, an exciting social experience previously available only to NOOK Color customers. From the home page, customers can see book recommendations from friends. See what your friends have posted about their current read, swap recommendations, share reading status, favorite quotes, and much more. Through Twitter® and Facebook® integrations, right from their current book, customers can tweet the title they’re reading, post on their Facebook wall and see what their NOOK Friends "like" on Facebook. With Barnes & Noble’s exclusive LendMe® technology, you can also lend eligible books to your friends at no cost for 14 days, and see and request to borrow friends’ LendMe books.

And coming in the next few weeks, Barnes & Noble will offer a new custom website, mynook.com, where customers can get recommendations from Barnes & Noble expert booksellers and NOOK Friends, access their NOOK Library™, and manage their device.

Read Your Way

Customers can customize their All-New NOOK and reading experience to their liking. Choose from 7 font sizes and 6 font styles. NOOK owners can personalize their device with one of Barnes & Noble’s screen savers or transfer personal photos (JPG, PNG, BMP and GIF) to make NOOK their own, and choose from a complete line of exclusive, new NOOK accessories (www.nook.com/accessories) to show their style wherever they go. They can also create personalized My Shelves to organize their NOOK Library and group reading content similar to their bookcase.

Read Everywhere

A customer’s entire NOOK Library follows them wherever they go. They can also easily transfer personal EPUB and PDF files to their All-New NOOK device to read documents on the go using the 2GB internal memory or a microSD™ card. Since the All-New NOOK is built on Android™ Operating System 2.1 and uses Adobe technology, device owners can also borrow digital books from their local library, a feature Barnes & Noble has always offered to NOOK device customers. Customers can also read seamlessly, accessing their NOOK Library and sync the last page read across their NOOK devices and their favorite mobile and computing devices using Barnes & Noble’s free line of eReading software (www.bn.com/freenookapps).

Availability

The All-New NOOK can be pre-ordered for $139 today and is expected to begin shipping on or about June 10, making it the perfect gift for dads and grads, and a great addition for every book lover’s summer reading wish list. Experience the All-New NOOK at www.nook.com or at the NOOK Boutiques™ and displays in one of Barnes & Noble’s more than 700 bookstores. With The Barnes & Noble Promise™, the company offers unmatched customer support in neighborhood Barnes & Noble bookstores, as more than 40,000 booksellers across the country are ready to assist customers with setting up their NOOKs or choosing their next great read. The company also continues to provide award-winning customer service support via phone and email. The All-New NOOK will also be available beginning next month at Best Buy, Walmart, Staples and Books-A-Million, along with NOOK Color.

Gateway to Release Rebranded Acer Iconia Tab A500

Posted: 24 May 2011 07:18 AM PDT

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Just as Packard-Bell got a rebranded version of the Acer Iconia Tab A500, so too will Gateway by the looks of a few new images showcasing a tablet sporting their name. Gateway has been a subsidiary of Acer since 2007, so seeing the US-based computer manufacturer’s tag on a black variant of the Iconia isn’t farfetched in the slightest. Gateway’s version carries two model numbers, TP-A60W and PT-A60G, which could refer to two versions of the device with slightly different storage or WiFi/3G configurations. Otherwise, we expect the specs to remain the same with a 10.1-inch display, 1GHz Tegra 2 processor, and dual cameras on the front and rear.

No word on when Gateway might be unleashing this bad boy or at what price, but with the Iconia Tab A500 already available that shouldn’t matter much. When the Gateway version does drop we expect it to be priced around the same $450 level.

[via UnwiredView]
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