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When it comes to eBook readers the Amazon Kindle (and Kindle DX) seems to get all the press but in fact there are several other makes and models of eBook reader to choose from. The Sony Reader Pocket Edition PRS-300 is just one of the smaller and less expensive units on the market and one which I shall be using and reviewing.
The Sony Reader is one of a growing range of eBook readers, a product designed to function as an electronic book reader. The PRS-300 is the baby of Sony’s range, although that doesn’t mean that they have compromised on quality and function. It is a sturdy well-built device that’s also affordable.
Read on to see my thoughts.
I was lucky enough to get myself an iPad at the weekend. Apart from the obvious games and web browsing that we all know is fantastic on the iPad, I thought I would demonstrate how I will also be using the iPad for my day job.
Although it is early days with the iPad I have discovered that it is a superb device for presenting PDFs and pictures which is something I often do in my job. Whipping out the iPad not only looks better than taking a product catalogue or brochure out of a briefcase, but it also delivers great quality images which hopefully will impress. The iPad allows you to have pretty much as many PDFs, pictures and office documents as you need, all in one compact device. No need to boot up a laptop or notebook anymore. The iPad is good to go in a split second.
Check out the video below. You never know, it may be a handy tool in your job too?
Just had an email from the chaps over at BitDefender about a threat that’s targetting iPad owners and while it doesn’t directly attack or infect the iPad it plays upon the fact that iPad owners may want the latest firmware for their new toy.
This isn’t the first time I’ve seen a Freedom keyboard but it has been a long time since the last one. I’m putting a bit of an iPad slant on this unboxing video and will do with the review, mainly because I have the iPad at the moment but also because I know that a number of people may indeed be looking for a Bluetooth keyboard for their new gadget.
If you don’t have an iPad though, don’t turn off just yet, this Freedom Pro keyboard isn’t exclusively for the iPad. In fact, with SPP and HID Bluetooth modes the Freedom Pro keyboard should work with a huge variety of devices from Blackberry’s, Windows Mobile devices, Android and Symbian to Laptops and even the Playstation 3!
The Freedom Pro offers a full sized full-QWERTY layout in a relatively small folding package and although on-screen text entry has come a long way on many mobiles and some also have a physical keyboard too, there is no substitute for a proper keyboard when you have a lot to type. Just thinking of the iPad again for a moment, one of the things I dislike about the touchscreen QWERTY is that there’s only four rows of keys, no numeric keys on the top row where I think there would be room if they were just a little smaller. So for typing a lot of stuff a real keyboard will certainly help.
As if there was any doubt as to the continuing success and growing popularity of the Android platform details of just how many titles have now been approved for sale through Android market have been made available by app tracking site AndroLib.
AndroLib states that there are over 50,000 apps available for Android (50,304 as I type this) and that this number is increasing at an almost exponential rate. Compare this figure to the one published just over 9 months ago when the market was said to be around 8,500 apps then that is a very rapid increase. If this growth rate continues then Android Market could overtake Apple’s App Store in mere months.
I’m sure that this success is due, in no small measure, to the relative ease with which and app will be approved for Android versus iPhone. Mind you I wonder if Steve Jobs telling everyone that Android is a good platform for pron might help?! 😛
Posted by: Matt
I’ve had my iPad for a few weeks now and one of the first things I wanted to sort out was an instant messaging client. Now there are lots of instant messaging apps for the iPhone and iPod from apps that are specific to one IM service, such as the Yahoo Messenger app, to those that support connection to multiple IM services.
However, there are not many instant messaging apps that are designed for the iPad yet. For example my previous favourite, Palringo, does not yet have an iPad version available and while the iPhone version will work on the iPad it’s limited to running in a small window on the iPad or virtually full screen using the pixel-doubling zoom function on the iPad, either way it’s not ideal.
We’ve known that Dell had plans to launch their own Android and Windows powered mobiles for a while but now details of two new handsets have started to emerge. The Dell Thunder and the Dell Lightning details have been leaked on the internet and images have already appeared on Engadget.
The Dell Thunder is expected to run Android 2.1, have a 4″ capacitive 480×800 OLED touchscreen, GPS, WiFi and 3G connectivity. It’s also rumoured to have a 1GHz Snapdragon processor. By the looks of the leaked images there will be a Sense-style user interface and we also expect Facebook and Twitter integration, Swype, Flash 10.1 and an 8-megapixel camera.
If the leaked information is to be believed then it looks like the Thunder will have a superb spec but it looks a bit ‘square’ for my taste.
Some time ago Sony announced a new range is compact HD camcorders calling them the Bloggie range. One assumes that they got the name from the fact that they support YouTube recording modes and files that are compatible for direct upload to YouTube.
We’ve reviewed quite a few of these small form HD camcorder in the past from the TG3E to almost all of the cameras from Sanyo’s Xacti range. I continue to be impressed with the quality of video footage that you can get from such small cameras these days.
The Bloggie also boasts a unique feature; included with the MHS-PM5 model that we are reviewing here is a clip-on 360 degree lens. This actually allows you to record a full 360 degree panorama video! You’ll have to use Sony’y bundled software to process the recorded footage but you can then export the 360 video in a variety of formats.
As always I’m going to try the Bloggie out over the next week or so but for now you can take a look at the unboxing video below.
As you probably know, Apple announced some delays to the UK launch of the immensely popular iPad last week, saying that it would be another month before they had enough of them to sell here in the UK and the rest of the world.
Just popped over to the Apple store for an update and pleased to see that there’s news! According to the UK online store the iPad will go on sale late in May 2010 and they will be accepting pre-orders from the 10th May.
If you’ve seen my video of the iPad or been following me on twitter or the MTA Podcast you’ll know that I am rather fond of my imported iPad and will be certainly buying another for Tracy just as soon as we can!
When it comes to eBook readers the Amazon Kindle (and Kindle DX) seems to get all the press but in fact there are several other makes and models of eBook reader to choose from. The Sony Reader Pocket Edition PRS-300 is just one of the smaller and less expensive units on the market and one which I shall be using and reviewing.
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