Weekend Reading: Toth, Apes, Jesus and Lichty

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Interviews, Reviews,

Okay, how many of you went to BEA this past week? Yeah, that’s what I thought. Since you didn’t make it, you might appreciate Torsten’s overview at Comics Beat.

Now, here’s some more nifty stuff:

Toth: Randy Reynaldo reviews Alex Toth, Genius Isolated. Need more be said?

Apes: My pal Rich Handley, no stranger to Planet of the Apes, reviews the first issue of BOOM!’s new Apes series, and likes it.

Apes II: Did you know there’s also a new Planet Of The Apes novel out? That’s right, novel! Scoop has the scoop.

Blackbeard: A terrific piece on comics historian Bill Blackbeard’s efforts to preserve comic strips, in case you were wondering why he’s such an important figure.

Click to continue reading Weekend Reading: Toth, Apes, Jesus and Lichty

Apple considering Samsung AMOLED panels for iPad 3

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Displays, Handhelds, Rumors,

A Korean paper is claiming that Apple is teaming up with Samsung to bring its Active-Matrix Organic Light-Emitting Diode (AMOLED) display technology to the iPad 3.

A "source" allegedly told The Korea Herald that "Apple wants to tap into Samsung's AMOLED technology for an upgraded version of the iPad 2." The site also claimed that Apple chief operating officer Tim Cook started chatting with Samsung about the possibility of integrating the technology on a recent trip to South Korea, and it pegs the end of the year for the launch of Apple's next-generation tablet.

Apple didn't upgrade the iPad's display with the second iteration of the device it released in March, and rumors about the fabled iPad 3's screen have already started to trickle in. Earlier this month, reports circulated that the next iPad will feature a 3D display.

Click to continue reading Apple considering Samsung AMOLED panels for iPad 3

Apple being sued for racial discrimination at NYC Upper West Side Apple Store

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Corporate News,

Two African-American men have filed a federal lawsuit against Apple that accuses the company of racial discrimination at an Apple Store in Manhattan.

The plaintiffs, Brian Johnston, 34, and Nile Charles, 25, claim a white Apple employee in his 50s told them, "I don't want 'your kind' hanging out in the store" at Apple's retail outlet at 1981 Broadway on Dec. 9, 2010, according to court filings cited by Apple Insider Wednesday.

Another Apple Store employee allegedly approached the pair, who were wearing "baggy jeans and large sweaters with hoods" according to the lawsuit, and said, "Now you have to go. If you want to know why, it's because I said so. Consider me God. You have to go."

Johnston and Charles entered the Upper West Side store to purchase headphones, the suit said. They recorded the incident on their cell phones, according to Apple Insider.

Click to continue reading Apple being sued for racial discrimination at NYC Upper West Side Apple Store

Top 10 Surprises @ BEA

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Conventions, Editorials,

I love BEA, better known as Book Expo America. It’s the premiere American book show - a place to mingle with publishers, authors, editors, bookstore owners and see what books will be coming out in the very near future.

Before BEA took up permanent residence in NYC, it used to pop up periodically in Los Angeles, and I always made it a point to drop in.

One time, while I was eavesdropping, I heard two publishing stereotypes - one even wore a brown corduroy sportcoat with leather elbow patches - discussing the future of the industry: “These blogs, they’re just so much nonsense, right?”

Click to continue reading Top 10 Surprises @ BEA

Amazon launches their own Mac App Store

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Apple, Hot Deals, Software,

Following up on the Lady Gaga album sale earlier this week, Amazon continues their digital download battle against Apple with the launch of their own Mac app download store. They've got quite a variety of available titles (though, not as much as the Mac App Store of course,) which include big games like Civilization V, productivity suites like Microsoft Office, and a bunch of others. Right now they are offering Airport Mania for free, and your first paid download will be $5 off. We like it.

Deal of the Day: Save 15% on Dell XPS 17

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Hot Deals, PC / Laptop,

The Deal of the Day today features the new Dell XPS 17. You can get this notebook for $150 off, and shipping is free. The Core i5 XPS 17 normally sells for $999, and this deal drops that price down to $749. Of course, being that this is Dell, you can configure it to your hearts content, so adding on a Core i7 processor still results in savings ($949), as does getting the 3D model with souped up NVIDIA graphics card. Click the link to get all the details - this is a hot one:

Save $150 on Dell XPS 17 laptop

Don’t forget, if you’re looking for other deals, be sure to check out our Newegg Promo Code thread. Oh, and if you're on Twitter, be sure to follow @TechPromos for the latest deals, or you can Like TechPromos on Facebook.

Unboxing Live 069: Motorola Droid X2 smartphone

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Cell Phones, Features, Handhelds, Videocasts,

We open up the Motorola Droid X2 in this episode of Unboxing Live, giving you a look a the first dual-core Android device available on Verizon Wireless. This is the follow-up to the original Droid X, and maintains the same form factor and physical buttons, as well as the huge display. This one is actually a qHD display, providing a higher resolution than the original Droid X that launched almost a year ago. One thing missing here, the Droid X2 doesn't have 4G LTE built-in, but that's a minor complaint for this otherwise speedy device.

As always, hit us with any questions you have about the Droid X2 and we'll do our best to answer them in our follow-up review! In the meantime, feel free to check out our Motorola Droid X2 gallery.

Big thanks to our sponsor - be sure and grab a free $5 credit from JackThreads now!

Wanna use Google Wallet? Better get a Nexus S and a Citi MasterCard!

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Google,

Look, we're as excited about the rapid adoption and potential of mobile NFC payments as anyone, Google, but can we ease up on the sales pitch a bit? If you sign up for Google Wallet, you get asked if you have a Nexus S, and a Citi MasterCard. If you say no, then you get a message saying that you should "consider" acquiring both. Since the Nexus S 4G is a Sprint device, that would mean that I would need to cancel my AT&T contract (or, I guess, have two contracts going) and also apply for a new credit card.

Google Wallet announced, NFC mobile payments are now live

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Google,

Now that Google Wallet has been announced (Google wallet video breakdown,) lets break down how you'll use this stuff. First, Google has a number of partners on board. Companies like Subway, Macy's, Toys 'R Us, Citibank, MasterCard, Walgreens, First Data, and Sprint. The nice thing about MasterCard is that the partnership means that Google Wallet is instantly compatible with all those PayPass NFC systems that you see in a bunch of places. Google Wallet trials are now live in San Francisco and New York City, and should be available nationwide sometime in the next few months.

As far as devices go, the Nexus S 4G is the only phone that will work out of the gate. However, other phone without NFC built-in can likely just use an NFC sticker, making them compatible as well. One pain here is that you must have a Citi MasterCard alongside a Nexus S 4G right now if you don't want anything else getting in the way. If you don't have a Citi MasterCard, and don't feel like applying for one, then you can set up a Google Prepaid Card, which you then have to fund from your other cards. Kind of a pain for now, but these are the necessary steps that need to be taken in order for us to get to the future, right?

Video: A look at Google Wallet NFC payment system

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Smartphones, Google,

This morning Google finally announced their NFC payment system, Google Wallet. We knew this was coming as soon as it was m ade known that the Nexus S would be packing in an NFC chip. Google put together the video above that shows how they plan on changing the game as it relates to payments. Our take? It's a step forward, but until we start seeing more Android devices shipping with NFC chips, this won't mean much. What it does do, though, is it encourages handset makers to start including NFC, as this is a huge incentive.