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Bleeding Edge TV 403: Amazon Kindle Fire review

In this episode we review the Amazon Kindle Fire tablet e-reader (also see our text version of our Kindle Fire review.) Amazon's looking to disrupt the tablet landscape with the Fire, and is pricing it aggressively at $199. The Kindle Fire weighs 14.6 ounces and packs a 7-inch IPS display, dual-core processor, 512 MB RAM, and 8 GB of on-board storage. It runs a forked version of Android that Amazon has customized in a major way. You also get Wi-Fi built-in as well. Purchasers of the Kindle Fire also get a 30-day trial of Amazon Prime, which'll let you get a nice sampling of what the company's Video on Demand service offers.

The browser, Amazon Silk, will be exclusive to the Kindle Fire for the time being, and it aims to speed up web browsing by a significant margin by offloading some of the heavy lifting to the Amazon EC2 cloud servers.

You can pick up the Kindle Fire for $199.

Big thank you to GoToMeeting and JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! As for JackThreads, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like.


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Amazon Kindle Fire review

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Handhelds, Product Reviews,

Kindle Fire review

The Amazon Kindle Fire is the first small tablet that average users can pick up and immediately use, with a simple, clear interface. Then there's the price: Android along with amazing specs for just $199. It's open enough to attract geeks, too. While the user interface occasionally gets sluggish, we're willing to have a bit of patience to get a first-rate tablet for half of what most competitors charge, thus the Kindle Fire is our first Editors' Choice for small tablets.

Design
A solid little brick at 7.5 by 4.7 by .45 inches and 14.6 ounces, the Kindle Fire looks and feels a lot like the BlackBerry PlayBook, but the Fire is smaller in all dimensions. There are no slots or tabs; both the memory and battery are sealed in, and the only interruptions in its smooth, black form are the headphone jack, Power button, MicroUSB jack, and dual stereo speakers. There's no camera, but I've never been sold on the value of tablet cameras anyway. It uses 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi networks to get online; there's no cellular radio or Bluetooth connectivity.

Turn the Fire on and the 7-inch 1024-by-600 IPS LCD screen lights up. This display is very sharp and clear, but it's also rather reflective. Just like on the Apple iPad 2, you may have trouble reading in bright light because of the screen's sometimes mirror-like gloss. While this is par for the course with tablets, I expected more given the Kindle name. This isn't a dedicated e-reader by any means.

Click to continue reading Amazon Kindle Fire review


Bleeding Edge TV 402: Olympus PEN E-PM1 digital camera

In this episode we give you a look at the Olympus PEN E-PM1 Micro Four Thirds digital camera. Here are some of the features of the device, which you can get on Amazon right now

  • Fast Shutter Response. Never miss a shot again with the E-PM1's Fast Shutter Response time of less than 60 milliseconds.
  • The TruePic VI feature allows for reduced shot-to-shot time by shortening the black-out time between shots.
  • Professional Audio Sound Capture. Take Videos that are able to capture uncompressed CD-quality 16bit/44.1kHz Linear PCM stereo recording or AC3 Dolby Digital audio. 12.3 MP with 3.0" LCD Screen
  • Face Detection with Eye Detect Full 1080 HD Video Shoot up to 29 minutes of 1080 60i HD Video and stereo sound in either AVCHD or AVI formats.
  • A Direct HD Movie Button switches you from still to movie mode with just the press of a button.

Big thank you to GoToMeeting and JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! As for JackThreads, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like.


Bleeding Edge TV 399: Motorola Droid Bionic review

We give you a look at the Motorola Droid Bionic in this episode. The Droid Bionic is a 4G LTE smartphone on the Verizon Wireless network, sporting a dual-core processor, 8 megapixel camera, and 1080p recording. The front camera even allows you to take part in Google Hangout sessions. ZumoCast allows you to stream content from your PC directly to the device. The Droid Bionic has a 4.3-inch qHD display. We explain the features and give you a look at the device in this episode.

Big thank you to GoToMeeting and JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! As for JackThreads, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like.


iPhone 4S review

iPhone 4S review

After over a year, Apple has released the follow-up to the iPhone 4, and its called the iPhone 4S. What do you do with your phone? If you're like most Americans, you make some calls, take some photos, and send some texts. Maybe you kill time with some games, check Facebook or Twitter, and look things up on the Web. If that's you, then the iPhone 4S ($199-$399 with contract on Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T) is your phone: it's the best cameraphone in the US, the fastest Web-browsing phone, and one that has finally licked the iPhone's calling problems. It's so good, that it's our current Editors' Choice on Sprint, Verizon, and AT&T.

Click to continue reading iPhone 4S review


Bleeding Edge TV 396: Amazon Kindle 2011 vs Amazon Kindle 2010

We bring you a comparison between last year's Kindle 3 (from 2010) and the new entry-level Kindle (2011) in this episode. We show you the size differences, compare the display refresh speeds, and go over more of the changes between the two models of Amazon's e-book reader. The new Kindle is available now for $79 from Amazon, with the Kindle Touch and Kindle Fire shipping this November. Be sure to get details on all the new Kindle hardware!

Also be sure to check out our Amazon Kindle (2011) unboxing video and Kindle (2011) photo gallery.

Big thank you to GoToMeeting and JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! As for JackThreads, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like.


Unboxing Live 074: Amazon Kindle (2011)

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

We give you a first-hand look at the newly updated Amazon Kindle. The company just announced a new family of Kindle for the holidays, one of which started shipping immediately. We were able to get our hands on one of the new $79 Kindle ebook readers, and we hit you with an unboxing of the unit in this episode, along with some thoughts on the look and feel of the device.

Big thanks to our sponsor - GoToMeeting makes it easy to collaborate with anyone, anywhere - and they have just released their new HD faces feature that lets you see the webcams of up to 6 users as a time, which means you're collaborating face-to-face. Also,  be sure and grab a free $5 credit from JackThreads now!


Amazon Kindle 4 (2011) hands-on gallery

Posted by Andru Edwards Categories: Features, Handhelds,

Amazon Kindle 2011

We've just got our hands on one of the new entry-level Amazon Kindle units that were part of the big Kindle announcements made by Jeff Bezos a couple of days ago, and we're definitely liking what we're seeing. The new Kindle is very noticably smaller and lighter than the previous generation (now known as the Kindle Keyboard,) and costs just $79 (with special offer screensavers.) We've put together a gallery showing off the device--take a look, and if you're interested, they're on sale now at Amazon.

Gallery:


Bleeding Edge TV 395: Apple Thunderbolt Display review

We give you a look at Apple's new Thunderbolt Display in this episode. The Thunderbolt Display allows you to connect a host of peripherals to it, and then run them all to your MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iMac, or Mac mini using a single Thunderbolt cable. We show all the Thunderbolt I/O inputs and explain how the monitor works in this episode. You can pick up the Thunderbolt Display for $999 from Apple.

Big thank you to GoToMeeting and JackThreads for sponsoring the show - be sure to check them out! As for JackThreads, we've got exclusive invite codes that give you $5 to use towards anything you'd like.


Marineman by Ian Churchill

Posted by Tom Mason Categories: Conventions, Editorials, Image Comics,

MarinemanEvery year when I go to Comic Con International in San Diego, I always find something unexpected, interesting and surprising in the world of comics.

This year, 2011, was no exception.

Of all the things I picked up at the various booths, there was one that really stood out for me and I stumbled across it by accident while lurking around the Image Comics area.

Marineman: A Matter Of Life And Depth by Ian Churchill (Cable, Deadpool, The Coven).

Churchill had a spot to himself and was selling trades, individual issues, and sketches.

He’s a charming, affable guy who genuinely believes in his story and his work.

He handsold me on the trade - I’d only heard of the in passing and yet I gladly handed over the $15 to get a copy.

Click to continue reading Marineman by Ian Churchill


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