Zek | Gear Diary

New Study Reveals eBook Readers Buy More Books

Do you own a Kindle or a nook and feel like you’re reading more than usual? As it turns out, it’s not just in your head. A recent study has shown that 40% of ebook reader owners read more than before, while 58% read at least the same amount! No wonder ebooks are growing at triple-digit rates! There are some fascinating statistics cited in the Wall Street Journal regarding ebook readers. Apparently, some studies have shown that people reading ebooks on a Kindle or nook read SLOWER than readers of paper books. Even more interesting, there was a slowdown even…

Reviews

Handy Runner GPS Fitness Tracker Android App Review

I’ve searched long and hard for a decent GPS tracking app when I run. Every app I liked had inconsistencies; Cardio Trainer offered great feedback but seemed to stop tracking roughly a mile into every run, RunKeeper overshot all my runs so 1.5 miles became 7.5, and BuddyRunner undercut all my runs by almost a 1/2 mile. However, I kept hunting, and I recently stumbled upon an app that interfaces with the RunningAHEAD training log. Not only does HandyRunner automatically update my log, but it’s also far more accurate than any program I’ve tried so far! HandyRunner is fairly simple…

eBooks, News & Features

Kobo Adds “Outside Book Loading” to Their iOS Apps

Kobo has an interesting new feature for iOS users; now you can add non-DRM’d ePUB and PDF files to the Kobo app on your iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad. You can do the same thing through Stanza, so it’s not the feature set itself per se…it’s that Kobo is the first mainstream bookstore to support this feature! If you read your books on an ebook reader, you can load any supported files onto your device. Kobo Readers can load DRM-free ePUBs, as can Sony Readers, B&N Nooks, Jetbook lites, etc. But unless you’re going through Amazon’s Whispersync conversion it’s nearly…

eBooks, News & Features

Amazon Is Having a Great Week

While B&N had some disappointing financial results, Amazon is riding high on some good news this week. They’ve had glowing early reviews for the Kindle 3, and some (unofficial) numbers indicate they’re trouncing Apple in the ebook wars. First, the Kindle 3 reviews. CNET, Kindle Review, and several other sites received review units, and everyone uniformly loved it! It sounds like the new screen and smaller size really help the Kindle to shine. Len Edgerly did a great video review as well: So the glowing reviews of the Kindle 3 are certainly one way to kill the “OMG iPad IS…

eBooks, News & Features

Barnes and Noble Doesn’t Eat Their Own Dog Food

If you knew nothing about Barnes & Noble and wandered into their stores, you’d assume the nook is a huge part of their business. After all, they’re promoting it like crazy, with signage everywhere, big bold displays, and what appears to be major corporate backing…but apparently the corporate backing only goes up to a point. And that point stops somewhere short of their chairman, Leonard Riggio. During an interview with NYMag, Riggio explained he doesn’t like the nook. He prefers physical books and turning pages to eInk, and refuses to use a nook to read. Fair enough if you’re the…

Reviews

Primo Battery Cube Review

It happens without fail at least once a week. I install a new piece of software on my phone or read a book on the Kindle app, or I get caught up in too many IM conversations…and I run my battery down mid-day with no access to a charger for several hours. Oops. Luckily, there are products like the Primo Cube to provide extra battery boosts. How well does the Cube do? Read on to find out! Physically, the Cube is tiny! I was shocked when I held it in my hand. It’s really small and incredibly pocketable. I was…

eBooks, News & Features

eBook Pricing Showdown!

(image courtesy Inkmesh) eBook pricing has been in a huge state of flux since the “agency model” went into effect this past spring. With many top titles pricing being set by the publisher it becomes a case of what store you prefer, and not necessarily what store offers the best price. However, there are still many publishers (Random House being the biggest) who don’t follow agency pricing, and the fine folks at Inkmesh did some number crunching to determine which store offers the best bang for your buck. Amazon was the winner, but by a lower margin than the pre-agency…

News & Features

Dr. Seuss Comes to Converse!

Who doesn’t love Converse All Stars? Many of my friends own at least one pair, and I own several, though my color choices have become far less garish as I’ve gotten older. Sure, you can grab a pair at your local Target, but if you’re looking to recapture the “cool” factor your first pair of Converse had, check out their new line of Dr. Seuss themed shoes! Personally, I like the “Thing One and Thing Two” style, but I have a ridiculous fondness for red Converse. Sarah (my fiancée) said I should wear the “Cat in the Hat” white ones…

News & Features

GreenSmart Gear Is Stylish AND Environmentally Friendly!

I reviewed some of GreenSmart’s Neogreene products last year; their basic philosophy is to make functional tech accessories using recycled and non-chemical materials. They had a great lineup then, but they’ve really come out swinging with their 2010 products! One of the great things about their products is that much of their material is made from recycled plastic bottles. If you have or used to have a soda addiction (I’ve been weaned off Diet Coke, but it was a long and painful process), there’s always the (infinitesimal) chance your bottles might be part of their gear! Check out this video…

eBooks, Editorials

Geek Squad Tackles eBooks

Best Buy’s Geek Squad offers a whole litany of services, and now they’re offering to set up your ebook reader for $29.99. While some might balk at paying almost 20% more for an ebook reader+setup, I think this brilliant and could lead to more ebook marketshare. One of the big obstacles, as I have said before, is simply getting the average person comfortable with ebooks. Turning on a nook or a Kindle and downloading books over the air is relatively easy, but what about adding your own documents? Or if you have a device that supports Adobe DRM, sideloading books?…

Editorials

Android: It’s Not Just for Geeks Anymore

If you want proof that Android has matured into a solid platform, don’t look to a geek like me. I’m happy to fiddle, experiment and tweak away, but tinkering doesn’t sell phones. If it’s not easy to use with great features then all the high end specs in the world won’t matter. Want proof? Just look at the experience of my fiancée, Sarah, a new Android convert. Like I said, I like to fiddle. The first weekend I had my Droid I spent my time poking around the settings, playing with wallpapers and software, and learning every possible combination of…

News & Features

Homemade iPad Case from a Gear Diary Reader!

One of our loyal Gear Diary readers dropped me an email today sharing the homemade iPad cases she’s selling on Etsy. Sure, you can hit up one of the big case makers for a slipcover, but if you’re looking to support a fellow geek, this could be a fun option! As Dan pointed out, iPad cases come in all styles, from leather to metal to plastic snap ons and thin vinyl skins. And now with sites like Etsy, you can even get something homemade and custom designed just for you! Yasemin’s Etsy page can be found here, the iPad case…

Editorials

I Love Froyo Except for a Few Bugs!

I’ve had the Froyo update for my Motorola Droid for a few days now, and overall I’m impressed. There have been some minor UI tweaks, and the speed seems slightly improved, though I think some of this might be in my head. Still, I think it brings the Android experience up to a slightly more refined level, and that’s definitely a good thing. However, there are a few bugs and oddities I’m noticing as I use it. I’m not sure if this is Droid-specific, general Froyo bugs, or some combination of weirdness from my phone and the various apps. None…

eBooks, Editorials

Blockbuster: A Canary in the Media Coal Mine?

underlying image courtesy TheBridgemaker.com I was in New York yesterday visiting a friend who just moved to the area. During a tour of his neighborhood, we stopped to see if there were any good deals at a Blockbuster Video that was closing. It sparked a discussion of Blockbuster’s business model and why they were struggling for survival. My friend was surprised to hear that Blockbuster may end up in bankruptcy, and he commented that it seemed like they had kept up well against Netflix with their online DVD rental service. I pointed out that it had turned out to be…

eBooks, Editorials

Is the Paper Book Dead?

There’s been quite the firestorm of debate over the future of the printed word recently. With the new Kindles selling out and Apple selling iPads like crazy, everyone is tripping over each other predicting the end of the road for paper. But is it really time to say goodbye, or are predictions of paper book’s death greatly exaggerated? In my opinion, there are a few areas that need to hit a “tipping point” before ebooks truly overtake paper books in all areas. Price, audience, software, and content all need to come together. And it’s important to remember that ebooks fall…

News & Features

The Augen Tablet Does Even More Damage to Android’s Brand

This has been a sore spot with me for some time. We keep hearing about these potentially wonderful Android tablets, and what ends up appearing is something underpowered, with a poor resolution screen and underwhelming built-in software. Augen’s tablet was the darling of the internet world for a few weeks, since it was cheap, being sold at KMart, and promised Google Marketplace! Of course, like all things that sound too good to be true, the Augen tablet didn’t live up to the hype. It was slow, the resistive screen was unimpressive, and Google Marketplace didn’t work. Augen kept promising it…

eBooks, News & Features

Google Has Quantified the Number of Books in the World

I pity whoever had to sit down and do all the work, but the Google Books project has calculated there’s something in the range of 129,864,880 books. They must be fairly certain if they felt comfortable nailing it down (as opposed to just rounding and saying 129,000,000+, since I for one am not quibbling over a few thousand). It’s sort of an awe-inspiring number! Personally, this means I really need to get cracking if I want to read as many as possible. Sadly, unless I find the fountain of youth, it’s unlikely I’ll get through them all. At a book…

News & Features

Philo Social Network Launches “Save Teresa” Campaign

Who says social networking doesn’t do anything good for the world? Philo, a social network designed around sharing your television addiction habits, has launched a “Save Teresa” campaign. Don’t know who Teresa is? Read on… Teresa Guidice is one of the “stars” of the Real Housewives of New Jersey. While I try to avoid tv trash, it’s a train wreck of a show I can’t stop watching. I keep justifying it as keeping up with the various ways people can make fun of me for being from New Jersey, even if I can shamefully explain the “plot” of each episode….

eBooks, Editorials

Sony’s Murky eBook Future

With Amazon’s Kindle 3 and Kindle WiFi selling out, and B&N seeing the nook as their major bright spot, it’s pretty clear that Amazon and B&N are dominating the ebook market. So where’s Sony in the mix? Apparently, not competing at all. Sony was out at the end of July with this comment to the blog ReadWriteWeb: “Pricing is one consideration in the dedicated reading device marketplace, but Sony won’t sacrifice the quality and design we’re bringing book lovers to lay claim to the cheapest eReader,” said Phil Lubell, VP of digital reading at Sony Electronics. “Our global customers expect…

Reviews

RoadID Wrist Sport Band Review

About a week ago, my fiancee came home, walked the dog, and headed out for a bike ride. After she was riding for about an hour, she started to, for lack of a better word, “bonk”. It was hotter than she thought, she didn’t bring a snack, and she was almost out of water. Luckily she was able to call me to pick her up at the trailhead, but the incident worried me. What if she hadn’t stopped herself and started walking, or the heat snuck up on her more and she’d passed out? The next day, I went online…

News & Features

Graffiti for Android Gets Updated but Has a Bug

I sang the praises of Graffiti for Android when it first came out. It was solid and easy for quick text entry. Now Access has released an updated with the following improvements: Autocorrect Auto-capitalization Word prediction Input word learning Japanese input Effectively it goes from being a simple text entry system to a very full-featured one. It works great…except for one bug. Most text entry programs recognize if your device has a hard keyboard, and they don’t “pop up” if the keyboard is engaged. Graffiti, unfortunately, does appear even if the keyboard is extended. It makes for a difficult typing…

Articles by Zek