Monday, December 1, 2008 by Amber
It is now officially the holiday season, and time for the first annual holiday Byte-Sized Holiday Gift Guide! Few things ever live up to the hype, but I guarantee my list of the holidays' best gadget gifts will top expectations and earn you some serious kudos. I'll be revealing *3* every Monday from now until the big holiday week ... so let's get started!  Microsoft Zune 4GPrice: $99 Buy it online at Amazon.com, BestBuy.com and Target.com Looking for a great mp3 player but don't even know where to start? I can tell you where -- and here's a big hint: It's the same place you should finish. Get your special someone (and that could be yourself) a Microsoft Zune 4GB. As I reviewed a few months back, it's a fantastic buy and features all the goodness of Microsoft, plus all the goodness of the iPod -- only better. I hiz-ate the magnetic earbuds, but who uses the proprietary phones anyway? Totally should top your list -- perfect for the audiophile and audiophobes. The 4 gig version will hold just about everything you could want, especially for a fun gym run, and it comes in 4 popping colors, including the ultra-girly pink that makes teens and twenties squeal. If you've got a ton of music, try to 8G for $149-ish, or if you are crazy (like me), go for the 120G for $250...  Nintendo Wii
Price: $399
Buy it online at Amazon.com and Target.com
Unfortunately, if you don't already have my next gift, you might not have it at all -- Nintendo's mega-hit gaming console Wii blasted off the planet when it debuted last year and has yet to hit re-entry. As far as games, get yourself a copy of the mind-bending Super Mario Galaxy and, if you can find it, the Wii Fit for some great, gadget-y fun. Wii Music will also be a big hit -- when in doubt, buy it! Your best bet here is to buy it from a vendor on Amazon.com...  Amazon.com Kindle
Price: $359
Buy it online only at Amazon.com As if this mega-cool gadget needs an introduction -- unfortunately, it's in the same boat as the Wii: If you don't have one, don't get your hopes up. Amazon.com has reported the Kindle is sold out and has issued a waiting list for those clamouring for some hot yuletide reading with the h-o-t-t-e-s-t gadget in town. I warned you about this one, so I will refrain from the 'I told you so's. But -- in the interest of full disclosure -- this may be a 'wait until next year' gift too, especially with news out today that rumors have pitted the Kindle 2.0 -- which looks amazing -- to debut early next quarter. Hmmm..... interesting..... Definitely weigh that news when deciding to get your book-lovin' sweetie a new e-reader. I def. will ... and I'll wait for 2.0 fo' sho'.
*** See you back here in a few days for some big tech headlines, and next Monday I'll add three more top tech gadgets to the Byte-Sized Holiday Gift Guide! Labels: Amazon.com, Kindle, Microsoft, Nintendo Wii, Zune 4G
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Friday, October 31, 2008 by Amber
Welcome on this frigid Halloween -- at least here in the Northeast. I've got my goth girl/skeleton costume on at work - -are you wearing something cool today? I'd love to see all of you geeking out with your tech-pop costumes! Do we have any Bill Gates impersonators or iPhones in the house? If so, send me pics! Now, let's see... we've got news fron Dell and the Beatles, Kindle shout outs and a big announcement from Netflix, so let's get to the headlines! -A few days ago I talked to you about Oprah's endorsement of the Kindle v1 -- well big news on the e-reader front: Alleged images of Kindle 2.0 (which Amazon.com still vehemently denies exist) has been leaked online. And, assuming that the images are valid, talk about a drool worthy gadget! Sleek shiny pearl-shaped keys... smaller page up/back tapes... and the curved corners and the slightly larger size are gorgeous. I changed my mind about Kindle v1 -- it isn't the coolest gadget that I want but don't yet have -- Kindle v2 is! PS -- Thanks to BlogKindle.com for the tip and the praise a few months back for naming Byte-Sized one of it's favorite blogs of the week! -Color is the new black in tech gadgets! Along with the new faces from The Flip and their awesome Mino, Dell will jump on the edgy-design bandwagon Nov. 11 when the made-to-order PC maker rolls out a new line of laptops that feature sleek, saucy designs. They look fantastic -- something every tech-ionista would be proud to pull out at a Starbucks next to a double tall sugar-free vanilla soy latte. Oh wait -- maybe that's just me... -Hey, wait a minute, Mr. Postman! I've got a story for you -- it's been a hard day's night, but after working like a dog, MTV Network's branch Harmonix has struck a deal with The Beatles to incorporate the massively influential 60s pop band's hits into it's massively popular video game franchise Rock Band. I'm so excited -- I just see myself belting out "Love Me Do!" and "Yellow Submarine" (complete with the echoing callbacks in the final chorus) -- so excited! -And, finally, big news for fans of Tivo and Netflix -- if you are a joint subscriber (as I am) you will have access to any of 12,000 TV shows and movies provided by Netflix to download directly on to you TiVo receiver -- as long as its series 3 or higher with HD capabilities. Talk about moving everything to the cloud -- this partnership is equally beneficial and awesome the consumers and the companies. Long live TiVo! Labels: Amazon.com, Beatles, Kindle, Kindle 2.-, Netflix, Oprah, Rock Band 2, TiVo
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Wednesday, October 29, 2008 by Amber
This week's news was far too interesting to hang on to it all until Friday, and who wants to read stale bytes after the fact? So, here is a special mid-week update on the top tech news of the week! Oprah has officially announced Amazon.com's Kindle is her new favorite gadget -- even going so far to call it 'life-changing.' It's possible this daytime dynamo's endorsement is all it will take for Kindle to become a household name -- let's hope she doesn't give it the Frey treatment later on while trying to boost her sagging ratings... My favorite bookseller, Barnes and Noble (due to the uncanny ability of my local library-ish store never to feel full or overcrowded, even on Harry Potter release nights), has launched a social network that allows users to post up lists of their favorite books, lists of the books they want, and comments/reviews of new releases. And, it links with Facebook accounts, so you can keep your friends updated on your literary preferences, as well. Booksellers are getting desperate in these tough times to keep people reading -- and with Harry Potter and now the Twilight saga done, they are moving to the cloud. Methinks they should take a look at the blurb above on what their next digital move should be. Can anyone say, "Amazon.com partnership"? This article on gaming consoles and their broken promises is a great read and brings back memories of previous claims of backwards compatibility and revolutionary technologies. Take a minute with your cup of coffee and give it a read. (Don't mind the creepy-looking gamer dude -- I'm sure it's just a bad picture...) Netflix is rolling out a steaming-media player based on Microsoft's Silverlight technology, which, for the first time, is available for use on Macs with an Intel core. Am the only person who hears Livingston Taylor's "City LiiIIiights ... shining in your eyes..." when I read that name? I like it! Labels: Barnes and Nobles, gaming consoles, Kindle, Microsoft, Netflix, Oprah, Silverlight, Social Network
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Monday, October 6, 2008 by Amber
We all love our gadgets, and now the competition for our e-reader dollars has upped another notch with Sony's new PRS-700, due in stores next month for about $400. This new e-reader will feature a touchscreen, which is a big, consumer-friendly improvement over the Kindle, which uses confusingly-placed long buttons to scroll between pages and a strange keyboard -- I know, blasphemy coming from me considering I am a huge fan of the Kindle. But, having played around with one, it's definitely a GUI you have to get used to. Also a strange feature to Sony's PRS is an LED backlight for the screen. What's odd is that the Kindle specifically didn't add a backlit screen based on market research that it would cause eye strain by reading off a computerized screen. Why Sony included this feature I don't know -- perhaps to allow a user to read in the dark, which is interesting -- but I still think Kindle may have the advantage if it is truly easier on the eye. The touch-based screen may be its biggest advantage over the $380 Kindle, based on the boom of touchscreen interfaces made popular by the iPhone and a bunch of new smartphones currently hitting the market. My money is still invested in the Kindle, I think. But it certainly speaks volumes of the e-reader market that we are even having the discussion. I'll always have my home hardcovers for display purposes and the occasional reading of my favorite screens, but as an environmentalist I'm psyched over the idea that people could buy their throw-away paperbacks/airport reading/trashy romance novels currently hiding with the dust bunnies under the bed on a device that saves paper. Definitely a cool development. Have an e-reader and want to share your thoughts? Labels: Amazon.com, e-reader, Kindle, Sony Bravia
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Tuesday, August 26, 2008 by Amber
 Make no doubt about it -- Amazon.com's Kindle is one of the hottest gadgets on the market these days, and I want one. Sales have reportedly been decent and the reviews are good, which is great news for a device looking to completely redesign and retool the way we feel about books. I'm a big fan of hard covers and the smell of freshly printed pages, and I adore having a library of titles on shelves around my home for visitors to peruse, much in the same way a hunter displays various animal parts on his walls -- except in a much more tasteful way, of course. But, the environmental voice in my head that's always-present cadence reminds me of my carbon footprint is very excited about the prospect of taking all these future books that I will no doubt be reading like a fish to water and using them, as Amazon intended with the name of it's proprietary gadget, as kindling instead of lugging them home from my local Barnes and Noble. Of course, there is always room for hypocrisy -- the Kindle (winging its way to me as a not-so-surprising Christmas present) can replace the toss-aside chick-lit books that I fancy occasionally but have no desire to fess up to -- you know, like the old Grishams that end up gathering dust under the bed because who can feel good about throwing away a book? But, alas, there are just some books that you need to display like shining trophies of achievement -- the Complete Works of Shakespeare, the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Twilight saga and, king of them all, my Harry Potter collection, of course, which currently resides in prominent display in my living room. But, the idea that the Kindle could one day even replace text books makes me feel good about signing on to the soon-to-be 2nd-gen gadget while many others wait for the technology and marketplace to flesh out completely. I challenge you to make the same commitment to something -- if not a gadget like this, than to something slightly controversial that catches your eye. One person might not break the branch, but if enough people go out on that same limb, it will break. Labels: Amazon.com, Barnes and Nobles, Kindle
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Amber Plante is your guide through the geektastic worlds of science, technology and pop culture -- the Q to your James Bond, the Cortana to your Master Chief and the McGonagall to your Harry Potter, so to speak. She makes the technobabble make sense and shows you the fantastic wired world of the Internet in a whole new light. Are you a geek, too? Don't worry, you're in good company.
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