Crave

(Credit: Notion Ink)

While the world awaits the birth of the Apple tablet, there is another touch-screen device that may have more of an impact--at least technologically. Notion Ink has announced that Adam, an Android-based tablet PC, will ship in June 2010 for around $325. However, what is really exciting is that this machine may be the first to sport the new 10.1-inch Pixel Qi display.

What's the big deal with Pixel Qi technology? While it can perform like a standard LCD display, the Pixel Qi panel has a low-power transflective display, which allows ambient light to illuminate the screen, and an e-paper mode. The latter resembles a black-and-white e-reader and is meant to be used under bright environments. This allows the Nvidia Tegra machine to consume 90 percent less power than conventional panels.

We are not sure if this device will make its way outside the U.S. but, hopefully, the Pixel Qi will start making an appearance on more machines.

This story was originally posted at Crave Asia.

(Credit: Chariot Skates)

If you can imagine "wearing" a bicycle on your feet, it might look something like Chariot Skates, the name of a novel form of roller skate that lets you go off-road and downhill with greater ease than inline skates.

Australian Michael Jenkins created his Wheelskates to bring skiing and cycling together in one product. The user's feet are suspended below the axles of knee-high wheels in hinged leg and foot support struts; smaller rear wheels add stability. The mechanism helps create the impression of skiing and skating when moving forward.

Jenkins says the low center of gravity in his skates allows users greater speed and maneuverability than traditional inline skates, adding that he travels around 12 mph without traffic.

It's also possible to go down grassy slopes and traverse rough terrain on them. Stopping is achieved by gripping the wheels with special gloves, or doing a T-stop.

People have been tinkering with wheeled footwear for more than a century, but Chariot Skates brings modern materials know-how to the dream of

One big reason readers choose e-books over ink and paper versions: The digital ones are cheaper.

That wasn't the case when e-books first appeared a decade ago. But Amazon has made a point of selling its Kindle titles at a discount to physical editions, even if it means losing money.

And then there are the titles that Kindle owners really, really love--the ones they get for nothing. As the Washington Post noted earlier this week, the list of best-selling Kindle titles is dominated by free books:

Amazon's customers have made it clear that $9.99 is still too high for their taste. Most titles in the company's list of top 100 Kindle bestsellers are priced below $9.99, and the most popular price point is $0.00.

The good folks at MediaBistro have gone ahead and counted, so you don't have to. As of a day ago, 64 of Amazon's top 100 Kindle titles cost nada.

How exactly does that work? I understand why Amazon is able to hand out ... Read more

Story Copyright (c) 2009 AllThingsD. All rights reserved.

Google's Chrome OS Netbook's rumored specs are out, and they're looking pretty good.

According to IBTimes, the Google Netbook will house an Nvidia Tegra platform with an ARM CPU. If the rumors hold up, it will also have a 10.1-inch multitouch screen that supports HD, come with a 64GB SSD, 2GB of RAM, and other standards like Wi-Fi, 3G, Bluetooth, a Webcam, and so on. Not surprisingly, the Netbook will run Chrome OS and come pre-installed with a suite of Google Apps.

The rumors also indicate that the Netbook will be available by holiday season 2010 for a subsidized price of under $300, which is impressive for the type of hardware they're talking about. It would be sold directly from Google's Web site, and the company may partner with a network operator to sell it as a bundled 3G plan.

If these rumors turn out to be true--which at this point, who knows--that's a welcome step up from the current generation of Netbooks. (Via IBTimes)

This story originally ... Read more

(Credit: Solid Alliance)

The latest version of the Crazy Earphones are a follow-up to offbeat buds released earlier this year that seem to be sprouting bananas, bolts and sushi.

The new batch goes on sale in January for about $22 apiece. Each comes with small or medium-sized silicon ear caps, as well as a cell phone jack.

Solid Alliance boasts they are "even sillier" than the first Crazy Earphones.

(Via Crunch Gear)

World of Warcraft runs well in Ubuntu.

(Credit: Screenshot by Dong Ngo/CNET)

If you are looking for an operating system that offers the best values, none can compare to Linux.

First of all, it's free. Most Linux distributions can be downloaded gratis from the developers' Web site and you can install it on however many computers you want. Secondly, it comes with a lot of things, such as office tools (word processing, spreadsheet, presentation), audio and video playback, Internet and e-mail, instant messaging, and so on. Basically everything a general user would want to use with a computer is there when the installation is done. For those applications that are not there, chances are you can download them for free.

Wine is more than just an emulator; it makes Windows applications run in Linux much like they do in Wndows.

(Credit: Screenshot by Dong Ngo/CNET)

There's also a Linux application called Wine that allows you to run Windows software within Linux. What is special about ... Read more

(Credit: Olive)

Christmas has come and gone, but it's not too late to think about giving yourself a post-holiday treat. And Olive is here to help. The company is offering a free copy of the Beatles Remastered CD collection to anyone who purchases an Olive 4 or Olive 4 HD digital music server. Yes, at $1,500 to $2,000, this is no impulse buy, but if you're in the market for a high-end digital music server, having the Beatles CDs (a $200 value) thrown in for free just might get you to take the plunge. (We liked the previous Olive product we reviewed back in 2006, and we'll be reviewing the Olive 4 in January.)

Update: The deal originally ran until December 28, but Olive has now extended it until December 31. Check it out here, and be sure to read the terms and conditions as well.

That failed terrorist attack Friday might make international flights a whole lot less enjoyable. Passengers are reporting that new restrictions are in place, and their severity varies flight to flight. Among the reports: No electronics allowed.

Update: According to a tweet from industry analyst Charlene Li, here's the situation:

Passengers flying from international locations to U.S. destinations may notice additional security measures in place. These measures are designed to be unpredictable, so passengers should not expect to see the same thing everywhere. Due to the busy holiday travel season, both domestic and international travelers should allot extra time for check-in."

Again, these are isolated incidents, and there's still no official word from TSA. But in certain instances, some passengers are reporting that electronics usage on inbound U.S. flights is restricted. We'll let you know if an official announcement comes.

The New York Times is reporting that no one will be able to move from their seats during the last hour of flight. That means no bathroom breaks, no accessing carry-on luggage, nothing. When that plane starts descending, you're planted.

Multiple sources, among them Xeni Jardin of Boing Boing, have also been told that no electronics are allowed on international flights. None. So you can't even play video games to distract yourself from how badly you have to pee.

Amazon's second-generation Kindle

(Credit: Corinne Schulze/CNET)

Amazon.com on Saturday released its annual post-Christmas statement on holiday sales and made one thing clear: the Kindle was king, perhaps fueled by continued shifts in plans for shipments of Barnes & Noble's competing Nook e-reader.

"We are grateful to our customers for making Kindle the most gifted item ever in our history," said Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos.

In another milestone for the e-reader, the company noted that on Christmas Day, for the first time ever, Amazon customers bought more Kindle books than physical books. The company didn't offer specific numbers for either category.

The peak shopping day for the online retailer was December 14, when customers ordered more than 9.5 million items worldwide, "a record-breaking 110 items per second."

Among those items bought between November 15 and December 19, the top electronics, following the Kindle, were Apple's iPod Touch 8GB and the Garmin Nuvi 260W GPS.

In the video game category, ... Read more