nook

Twitter restores popular features to its iPhone, Android apps

Twitter has again tweaked its iPhone and Android apps, reviving a few "high-demand" features that were jettisoned from the previous versions, as described yesterday in Twitter's official blog.

Both apps have brought back the swipe shortcut. Swiping a tweet in your timeline now displays the toolbar of icons that let you reply to, retweet, share, or view the tweeter's profile all without having to exit the timeline.

And both versions have added a new alert to the "Find Friends" feature. Now when you tap on the feature at the bottom of the Discover tab, … Read more

Is the 8GB Nook Tablet worth your $200?

There's a new line in the sand drawn for 7-inch tablet pricing, and that number is $199.

Barnes & Noble and Amazon were already locked in a fierce rivalry in the "bargain tablet" space with the $249 Nook Tablet and the $199 Kindle Fire. Barnes & Noble delivered better specs for that $50 premium (double the RAM, double the storage, and a microSD expansion slot). But now B&N has removed the price difference between the two products by releasing a new step-down Nook Tablet that levels the playing field on both specs--halving the internal storage … Read more

Google getting around IE privacy settings?

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

Sorry, PlayBook 2.0 still isn't worth your money

commentary The PlayBook tablet can finally access corporate e-mail. Hallelujah, right?

No, don't expect the legion of BlackBerry faithful to flock to the PlayBook, now that it has the one key feature everybody said Research In Motion should have included in its tablet in the first place. At this point, even the most ardent fan has to admit that this product has been nothing but a disappointment.

RIM is hoping that the release of its PlayBook 2.0 software will spark demand for its troubled tablet. The updated operating system includes an integrated e-mail in-box, a calendar and contacts … Read more

New $199 Nook Tablet to compete with Fire

Barnes & Noble has Amazon's Kindle Fire directly in its sights. Its latest ammunition: a $199 Nook Tablet with 8GB of memory.

The new version of the Nook Tablet--$50 cheaper and with half the memory of the original--now matches the Kindle Fire in price and memory specs. The book retailer hopes the lower price will make it more of a rival to Amazon's tablet, which has established itself as the No. 2 player behind Apple's iPad. Amazon has attracted customers through a lower-end price and a decent selection in its online store.

Barnes & Noble … Read more

Barnes & Noble reportedly readying 8GB Nook Tablet

Barnes & Noble is prepping a new version of its Nook Tablet to better compete against Amazon's Kindle Fire.

The book retailer will launch an 8-gigabyte version of its tablet through Wal-Mart on Wednesday, according to The Verge.

The Nook Tablet made some noise after its launch as part of a new wave of affordable tablets better suited to competing with the higher end iPad from Apple. But while the Kindle Fire has sold well and drawn much of the attention of the consumer and media, the Nook Tablet hasn't seen the same level of adoption. … Read more

Amazon Kindle Fire climbs to top of Android pack

Three months after going on sale, we still don't know how many Kindle Fire tablets that Amazon has sold.

Sure, analysts have made estimates, but without real figures from Amazon, we're left to guess as to how the Kindle Fire is faring against devices from Apple, Samsung, and others.

Or do we? Issued just today, a new report from IHS iSuppli predicts that not only is the Kindle Fire selling well, but it's beating its Android tablet competition.

Likely led by its attractive $200 price and heavy marketing strategies, Amazon is reported to have sold just under … Read more

Get the Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet for $199 shipped

If you've been keeping score, Barnes & Noble's refurbished Nook Color e-reader has been selling for as low as $129. But, let's face it, that's last year's model. The newer, more powerful Nook Tablet, which debuted just a few months ago, has held steady at $249.

That's why today's deal is kind of a big, well, deal. Until midnight on Friday (February 17), and while supplies last, you can get the Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet for $199 shipped. That's after entering coupon code CNOOKDEAL at checkout.

As you'll no doubt … Read more

Get a Nook Simple Touch Reader for $84

A few weeks ago, CNET's Scott Stein made the case for using a dedicated e-reader instead of a tablet--for book reading, that is.

I'm inclined to agree with him, as I find that when I read on my iPad or Nook Color, I'm frequently distracted from my book. It's hard to resist the siren song of e-mail, Web browsing, Flipboard, and the like when they're just a tap or two away.

With a regular old e-reader, however, all you get is your book--and that's a good thing. Hence I'm seeing the value … Read more

Microsoft withdraws one patent claim against Barnes & Noble

Microsoft withdrew a patent from the list of ones that it claims Barnes & Noble violates with its Nook e-readers in the software giant's case against the bookseller before the U.S. International Trade Commission.

The software giant filed a motion yesterday to remove the so-called "522 patent," which covers the method of displaying tabs, like those in a browser. A Microsoft spokeswoman said it decided to withdraw the patent from the dispute to focus on its case.

"We removed the patent from the ITC investigation to streamline and simplify the issues to be considered at … Read more