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Search for iPad on Amazon, get iced by Fire

Amazon is mostly an equal-opportunity seller, but when it comes to selling the iPad 2, it's a slightly different story.

Just trying keying in "iPad" or "iPad 2" into the Amazon search bar and you'll see what I mean. The first "sponsored" search result is a link to "Compare iPad 2 vs. Kindle Fire" that encourages you to a view a side-by-side comparison of key features.

Not surprisingly, the Kindle Fire either matches or bests the iPad 2 in most of those key features, taking losses in only the memory … Read more

Device & Conquer: The flavors of wireless

Wireless Internet is becoming essential for most of us, yet it remains a bit like black magic.

For a lot of people, terms like 3G, 4G, and Wi-Fi are cryptic or just barely understood. How do they differ? When do you use each? And why do we even have to think about wireless connections so much? Brian Cooley explains what the different types of wireless do and how to use them. … Read more

Kindle Fire vs. iPad 2 vs. Tab 8.9: Performance speeds

Yes, in case you were wondering, the Kindle Fire is a tablet. It downloads apps, surfs the Web, displays books, and plays music and video. Its chief interface tool is a capacitive touch screen and it's a small, relatively thin device.

Based on those facts, comparing its performance with both the iPad 2 and Samsung Galaxy Tab 8.9 should elicit very little dissension among Kindle fanboys (is that even a thing?), but I'm quite confident the comparison will stir up trouble anyway. Not that I'd let that stop me.

Today we'll take a close look at two key functions of the Kindle Fire: app downloads and Web page loading. In particular, how fast each can be accomplished on the Fire compared with other tablets.… Read more

Battlefield 3 vs. Modern Warfare 3

Two of the year's biggest games are going head to head this holiday season, both seeking the crown as best military first-person shooter. Unless you've cut yourself off from all forms of media consumption, I'm of course talking about Modern Warfare 3 and Battlefield 3.… Read more

iPhone 4S vs. 4: Does the 'S' stand for speed?

The "S" in iPhone 4S can stand for anything you want it to, be it Siri or Steve or super. However, after finally spending some time with the iPhone 4S this week, I'm choosing to believe that the S does in fact stand for speed, but you probably already knew that, given the title of this piece.

The iPhone 4S' biggest performance advantage over its predecessor is the dual-core A5 CPU inside, replacing the iPhone 4's single-core A4 chip. When I upgraded from my iPhone 3G to the 4 last year, the speed difference between the two phones was obvious and welcome. This year, I'm not eligible for a subsidized iPhone 4S through AT&T, so I won't be getting one.

Discovering that bit of bad news immediately made the 4S less appealing to me as my mind--doing its best attempt at damage control--scrambled for good excuses as to why I wouldn't want one anyway. Chief among them being, "Well, it's probably not that much faster." … Read more

It's Apple iPhone Day

Sprint has signed a $20 billion dollar deal for 30.5 million new iPhones, and Adobe releases Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 with accelerated 3D graphics support, and check out CNET.com's live coverage of Apple's announcement of the next iPhone(s).

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded:

Apple iPhone coverage Spring buying 30.5 million iPhones Flash Player 11 and AIR 3 launch Microsoft cleans up Hotmail inboxes Microsoft axes the Zune Nintendo partners with Dreamworks Subscribe: iTunes (MP3) | iTunes (320x180) | iTunes (HD) | RSS (MP3) | RSS (320x180) | RSS HD

Netflix vs. Blockbuster: What's the best service for streaming and DVDs?

Editors' note (September 19, 2011): Since this story was first published, several important changes have occurred. Netflix has initiated new pricing plans and is spinning off its DVD-by-mail program into a separate company known as Qwikster; Starz content will be disappearing from Netflix streaming as of February 28, 2012; a new Blockbuster subscription streaming service is rumored to be debuting before the end of the year. We'll update this story in the future once the details on these new developments are fully revealed.

There are more choices than ever for your entertainment dollar, but Netflix and Blockbuster remain the only two that offer both online streaming and disc-by-mail options. Recent changes to both--a controversial Netflix price hike and a change of ownership for Blockbuster--make this a perfect time to re-examine how both of these vendors stack up against one another.

In the analysis below, we explain how Netflix and Blockbuster stack up against each other on both fronts (discs and streaming), look at the other competitors (including Hulu Plus, Amazon, Vudu, and iTunes), and make an overall recommendation on the best choices for you.… Read more

The 404 894: Where we're touched by a tablet (podcast)

Samsclub.com finally delivered my HP TouchPad yesterday, and I can already feel the drops of regret bubbling up--listen to today's episode of The 404 Podcast before you invest in HP's next round of $99 tablets.

It's not all complaints, though--we'll also tell you what to expect from HP in the coming months, discuss the latest news in the Dept. of Justice vs. AT&T ruling, and wag our collective finger at Gawker for its unapologetic nerd-baiting.

The 404 Digest for Episode 894

HP to bring back TouchPad for last production run. Justice Department to block AT&T's T-Mobile deal. My brief OkCupid affair with a world champion Magic: The Gathering player.

Episode 894 Subscribe in iTunes (audio) | Subscribe in iTunes (video) | Subscribe in RSS Audio | Subscribe in RSS Video… Read more

Poll: Do you buy albums or songs?

Not every album is a song cycle or designed to be listened to as a complete work of art. But the songs were more or less recorded in the same time frame, and someone tried to create a musical flow, from one song to the next.

Some musicologists cite Frank Sinatra's 1958 album, "Only the Lonely," as the first "concept" album, for its sustained theme of late-night moods and melancholy. There were probably earlier pop song cycles, but it was definitely the Beatles' "Sgt Pepper" and the Who's "Tommy" that … Read more

The best defense is a good symphony

Talk about a flashback to the early 2000s. Tower defense (TD) games are still kicking strong, and just when you thought it couldn't get any better, Symphonic Tower Defense rolls around.

Symphonic Tower Defense is a rhythmic tower defense game by FrozenFire and JonSandness and is currently featured on Newgrounds as one of the top most played games on the site. In true Plants vs. Zombies style, Symphonic takes a linear, multilane, music-driven approach to the tower defense genre.

The title draws its inspiration from the once-popular Dance Dance Revolution (DDR) series. Those who recall the golden … Read more

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