Kindle Touch updated with new UI, Whipersync for Voice and comic book navigation
Still have an old Kindle Touch sitting around? You have some new features to play with. Despite replacing it with a brighter son, Amazon is still updating its original touch sensitive e-reader — outfitting it with a new UI, enhanced parental controls and Whispersync for Voice, which shares bookmarks between audio and text versions of the same digital tome. Amazon’s improved the Kindle Touch shopping experience too, adding recommended content offers to users and remembering where they left off in a sample after they purchase the full text. Finally, the company injected the Kindle Touch with better comic and graphic novel navigation — allowing readers to view their funnybooks panel by panel, rather than by the full page alone. The update will be delivered wirelessly, though users that fancy their USB cable can install the new features the old fashioned way. Check out Amazon’s “what’s new with Kindle Touch” page for a run down of the update’s features.
Filed under: Amazon
Via: Verge
Source: Amazon
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Leave a commentSimple Life With a Touch of Eco-Friendly Sophistication, Croatia
Probably one of the most interesting and nature oriented houses, the House 04 project, located in the sunny region of Osijek, Croatia, tries to establish a special relationship between man and nature, using the liveable space as a tool. The modern-edgy home, designed by Helena Alfirevic Arbutina showcases the duality of the human existence and the constant need of finding inner peace. There are two walnut trees that mark symbolically the entrance. The very fluid and organic shaped house comes with all sorts of ingenious details.
The house is divided in three wings. One of the side wings accommodates the garage and the bedrooms, while the opposite wing is reserved for children. The central wing, which is public, is ideal for welcome guests. The central wing is really interesting from an architectural point of view. The interior is rich in transparent area, so you can see everything around the house even from the upper level. The abundance of transparence also allows you to have a complete view over the courtyard. The white interior, with wooden details is adorned with a central, suspended fireplace, which adds a feeling of coziness. There are “earthy” details sprinkled around the house, such as the pebble-like carpet, a pebbles “passage”, as soon as you step inside the house and a small interior garden with white stones and small bushes behind a wall of glass. Really interesting and inspiring, the 04 House gives you the feeling that you are exploring the freshness of the outdoors, right in the intimacy of your home.
You’re reading Simple Life With a Touch of Eco-Friendly Sophistication, Croatia originally posted on Freshome.
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2014 Ford Fiesta gets MyFord Touch, smarter Sync voice commands
For all of Ford’s emphasis on Sync, it’s hard to deny that Fiesta drivers usually sit on the bottom rung of the automaker’s technology ladder when they’re denied MyFord Touch and the related perks of larger vehicles. Pick up the keys to a higher-spec 2014 Fiesta, however, and you’ll be in for a treat. The compact will stuff a 6.5-inch touchscreen and MyFord Touch into the center stack, with a few software upgrades over what we’ve already seen in cars like the Focus and Fusion. The highlight is undoubtedly the more direct voice command system — the Nuance-driven recognition no longer demands that we specify music categories or radio formats to start playing tunes. Bluetooth smartphone pairing and navigation by address should be streamlined at the same time. Motorists will have to wait until 2013 to reap the rewards, but it could be worth the wait to drive away with Ford’s better electronics in an affordable ride.
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Filed under: Transportation
Source: TechCrunch
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How would you change the Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight?
Barnes & Noble’s Simple Touch with Glowlight was here long before Amazon’s glow-in-the-dark offering, and has found its way onto plenty of your nightstands. We thought it was great, except wishing it was cheaper and had 3G, and since the company has remedied the former if not the latter gripe. However, has the last six months of reading been totally blissful for you? We’re inviting you to place yourself in the hirsute shoes of CEO William Lynch and tell us what you’d change if you were in charge.
How would you change the Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight? originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 14 Oct 2012 22:25:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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iFixit tears into the new iPod touch, bemoans lack of repairability
The folks over at iFixit have gotten their tool-sporting hands all over the new iPod touch, giving Apple’s latest music player the customary detailed teardown. The alien autopsy-esque dissection reveals the device’s A5 processor, flash memory from Toshiba and a lot of parts secured firmly in place. The latter, naturally, has led to a pretty dismal repairability score for the touchscreen player — a three out of 10 — nothing new, really, for Cupertino products, though the company seemed to be moving in the other direction with the new iPhone. Check the source link below for all the gory details — and yes, iFixit even goes so far as calling the device’s home button “weak.” Oh snap, guys.
iFixit tears into the new iPod touch, bemoans lack of repairability originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 11 Oct 2012 08:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Leave a commentTarget, Walmart list price drop for B&N’s Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight to $119
Check those calendars. It’s September 29th, which means, for those who follow the world of e-readers, that we’re two days from Kindle Paperwhite day. According to Target and Walmart, it also means that Barnes & Noble’s own illuminated e-reader, the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight, is getting a $20 price cut, down to $119. That price puts the reader on par with the entry-level Paperwhite (no 3G, with ads). Let the battle of the front lit e-readers commence!
Target, Walmart list price drop for B&N’s Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight to $119 originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 29 Sep 2012 21:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Google Maps creation put under the microscope, reveals a human touch
They say you should never learn how the sausage gets made, but we’re willing to make an exception for Google Maps. Talking to The Atlantic, Google has revealed just how much the human element figures into all that collected satellite imagery and road data. Many pieces of terrain information are tested and modified against what Google calls Ground Truth: actual driving, alternate sources and sign photos automatically extracted from Street View runs. Google isn’t just making the occasional correction, either. Mapping a country can take hundreds of staff plugging away at the company’s Atlas tool, even before we get a crack with Google Map Maker. The combination of man and machine helps explain why Google Maps is one of the most accurate sources of location information on Earth — although the firm does have some catching up to do in space.
Filed under: GPS, Internet, Alt
Google Maps creation put under the microscope, reveals a human touch originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 08 Sep 2012 05:37:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Leave a commentSony Xperia sola: a pint-sized Android handset with floating touch (hands-on)
Sometimes getting lost in the maze-like sprawl of the Messe can turn up unexpected surprises. In this case, we chanced upon Sony’s Xperia sola hiding in plain sight at Sparhandy’s booth. The petite Android handset, formerly codenamed “Pepper”, was officially announced earlier this spring and even crept up in FCC filings. But until now, we’d never had quality hands-on time with the 3.7-inch Gingerbread device. For its diminutive size, the wee phone sports a 854 x 480 LCD display powered by Mobile BRAVIA Engine, a dual-core CPU clocked at 1GHz, 5-megapixel rear shooter and NFC functionality for Smart Tag use.
As you might expect, the sola fits quite nicely into the palm of your hand, though its tiny screen can pose an issue for those with larger digits. And speaking of touch navigation, this Sony phone separates itself from the rest of the Xperia pack with the inclusion of floating touch technology — much like the Galaxy Note 2. What’s that? Well, turns out this device can detect your finger’s presence up to 20mm away from the screen, allowing users to highlight links, but only from within the browser. Apart from that neat touch, which in practice, is a bit awkward to properly use, the phone functions exactly as it should for the low-to-mid range it occupies. Performance is appreciably quick and pages loaded up in the browser in just about 30 seconds time.
There’s still no word on whether the sola will ever make it stateside, but if you’re keen to see that hovering functionality in action, head past the break for a video demo and check out our gallery below.
Gallery: Sony Xperia Sola hands-on
Mat Smith contributed to this report.
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Filed under: Cellphones, Wireless, Mobile
Sony Xperia sola: a pint-sized Android handset with floating touch (hands-on) originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 31 Aug 2012 11:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Kobo updates Touch eReader software and Desktop app, heads to Italy this fall
Kobo’s clearly been focused on important stuff like being bought by Rakuten and launching in Japan as of late, but the e-reader manufacturer’s got a few bits to announce this week. At the top of the list is a software upgrade for its neglected Touch eReader, which brings a new wish list feature, so you can set aside titles for future purchase. A newly redesigned home screen promises to streamline things a bit and the Bookshelf feature has gotten a bit more customizable, letting you organize selections by genre, author and interest. The Kobo Desktop app, meanwhile, has gotten some tweaks to its profile quiz, to better help the company recommend books to suit your taste.
The company also announced that it’ll be bringing the Touch eReader to Italy, courtesy of the Mondadori Group. At launch, 30,000 titles will be available in Italian. Italian e-reading enthusiasts will be able to snap up the Nook / Kindle competitor for €99 in the fall.
Kobo updates Touch eReader software and Desktop app, heads to Italy this fall originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 11 Jul 2012 21:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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Insert Coin: Hand Stylus for touch devices
In Insert Coin, we look at an exciting new tech project that requires funding before it can hit production. If you’d like to pitch a project, please send us a tip with “Insert Coin” as the subject line.
Inventive scribbler Steve King — no, not that one — is working his fingers raw trying to raise $25,000 on Kickstarter. His project, the colorfully-named Hand Stylus, works with all your capacitive touchscreens, sports a retractable nib that rotates to avoid uneven wear, and even sticks to the magnet on an iPad. While it can’t replace the need for natural digits, it could potentially come in handy while taking notes, sketching, cooking, or experiencing frostbite. Skip down below the break for a video if you need more convincing, or you already lost the one that came with your Galaxy Note.
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Insert Coin: Hand Stylus for touch devices originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 03 May 2012 17:19:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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