Crave

(Credit: Entertainment Earth)

I am not really Batman, despite what I tell girls on dates, but if I had this badass Bat utility belt I could maybe convince them otherwise. I mean, it's only $279 and could easily hold all my portable gadgets, plus my wallet and a young lady's heart (not literally, of course).

The 38-inch-wide belt is made of faux leather and has eight pouches with Batman logo emblems on the snaps, as well as a gold-plated metal buckle with a Batman logo emblem. It'll be available in June of '10, but Entertainment Earth is taking preorders now. In addition, it's a licensed replica, so you won't have lawyers coming after you like the Joker's henchmen. But even if you did, you'd have the included smoke bombs and grappling hook to deal with them.

Well, OK, it doesn't come with weapons, but the Internet's a big place. I'm sure you could find something useful to fill the pouches with. Jelly, perhaps?

With all the buzz over the tiny LCD screen on the bottom of Barnes & Noble's Nook, I was excited to get some time with the Entourage Edge, a device that pairs a large 9.7-inch E Ink screen with an even larger 10-inch LCD touch screen.

I got that chance on Monday, when the company stopped by CNET with a prototype of the product, which is set to ship in February for $490.

The goal of the Edge, the company says, is to offer a device that can replace the textbooks and notebooks carried around by typical high school students.

"We just thought here was a way to take technology and apply it to what they carry around," said Entourage Systems Vice President Doug Atkinson. "The initial goal was to put a 30-pound backpack in a device. I think we've achieved that."

There are a lot of features to like about the three-pound device, although, it definitely has the look and feel of a first-generation product.

The Edge's main selling point is, of course, the fact that it has two screens to do true work on. Unlike the Nook, which uses its color screen only for navigating the eBook and as an on-screen keyboard, the Edge's LCD can be used to run a variety of Android applications or to browse the Web.

The electronic ink side, meanwhile, can be used not only for reading books, but also for taking notes, using a stylus.

One of the Edge's many neat tricks is letting you go back and forth between the two screens. ... Read more

Since I've amassed digital photos over the years, I've found it more pleasing to turn them into photo books instead of individual prints (plus, they make great gifts when you're running low on time). I've used Kodak Gallery, HP's Snapfish, and Apple's iPhoto to build and publish them with good results. Most recently, though, I've been using MyPublisher.

Click for more photos

(Credit: Joshua Goldman/CNET)

MyPublisher 4 is a stable, standalone application that is only 11MB, making it fast to download, and it takes no effort to install. Start it up and you're presented with your project options. Books are the main attraction, but you can also create calendars, cards, and book jackets. Compared with other services, the overall design and size options are fewer, but it makes for a streamlined process of building and buying a book instead of getting bogged down in too many selections.

The interface looks nice and is reasonably clean, but it could use some tweaking. For example, the main screen for assembling a book has two toolbars that sit below the project window: one with tools and editing options and one for moving you back and forth through the creation process. Having them on top of one another makes for a busy-looking and possibly confusing interface. Simply moving one above the project window would improve things.

Also, there are option menus that pop open when you click on them, but once you select something, they don't automatically collapse again and instead stay open on top of your project. Lastly, while adding the photos you want to use is easy, it relies on you knowing where your photos are stored; there is no organizer element to the software. This last one is only an issue if you don't know where the photos are that you want to use.

MyPublisher 4 photo-book creation software (photos)

The software isn't feature-packed, but it has everything you'll likely need, including basic editing tools that can be used both before and after you've placed an image in the book layout. All of the fonts on your computer are available for use when adding text. However, some fonts might not work well in the final product, in which case the software will switch your selection to Arial.

One of the best parts of using MyPublisher is the support behind the product. The company's site has a lot of easy-to-find information, but there is a toll-free phone number as well as an e-mail address for support. Even better, though, is the live chat that's available 24/7--it's one click away through a button in the interface. Another nice touch is the Price Check button for quickly finding out what your current project will cost.

The final results are very good, but a lot of that depends on the size and quality of the photos you used in the first place. Again, pay close attention to what the company says is best to use and you should be satisfied with the results.

Somewhere, Theodor Geisel (aka Dr. Seuss) is smiling. "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" for iPhone turns the classic tale into a superb interactive e-book, one that's as much a learning tool as it is an entertaining diversion.

With all the fuss over Kindles, Nooks, and other e-book readers, I've often wondered why there's been so little focus on children's books--arguably the ideal media for a portable device.

After all, what parent hasn't wished for something wholesome to keep young kids occupied during car rides, long waits in a restaurant, endless hours on a plane, and so on?

Kids can tap a word to hear it pronounced and see it grow big.

"Grinch" offers two modes: "Read to Me" and "Read It Myself." In both cases, readers are treated to the original artwork and text, but with some clever panning and zooming that adds an animated touch.

The reader, professional actor Lee Abbott, lends just the right kind of kid-formal voice to the story. And because each word is highlighted as he reads, kids have the opportunity to learn along the way.

Another perk: each page is interactive. Kids can tap an item on the screen (such as "tree" or "Grinch") to hear it pronounced and see the accompanying word.

In short, this is exactly what you'd hope for from a Dr. Seuss book made electronic. And the $3.99 price tag is more than reasonable, especially considering that the noninteractive hardcover lists for $15.

As the parent of a learning-to-read 7-year-old who loved every bit of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" on my iPhone, I'm sold. Note to developer Oceanside Media: keep the Seuss books coming. (Can I get my order in now for "Yertle the Turtle"?)

Apple will ramp up production on its long-rumored tablet in February with an eye toward a spring launch.

That's the word from Oppenheimer analyst Yair Reiner who says his checks into Apple's supply chain indicate that "the manufacturing cogs for the [device] are creaking into action." According to Reiner, the tablet will have a 10.1-inch multitouch LCD display and a price point of $1,000.

Apple plans to produce as many as 1 million units per month. So assuming it needs five to six weeks of inventory before launch, we can expect it to arrive at market sometime in March or April. In preparation for that day, the company has evidently been evangelizing the device to the publishing industry.

"Contacts in the U.S. tell us Apple is approaching book publishers with a very attractive proposal for distributing their content," Reiner wrote in a note to clients today. "Apple will split revenue 30/70 (Apple/publisher); give the same deal to all comers; and not request exclusivity. We believe the typical Kindle/publisher split is 50/50, rising to 30/70 if Kindle is given ebook exclusivity."

Noting dissension in the ranks, Reiner adds, "As innovative as it is, we believe the Kindle has disgruntled the publishing industry (book, newspaper, and magazine) by demanding exclusivity, disallowing advertising, and demanding a wolfish cut of revenue. The tablet is set to change that. It should also make e-books more relevant for education by simplifying functions such as scribbling marginalia."

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

Just in time to round out your holiday shopping season, we've consulted the Web traffic oracles and compiled a list of the most popular laptops of 2009.

Based on which system reviews CNET readers clicked on most often, this list shows what's on the minds of laptop shoppers -- and the emphasis is clearly on value over all else.

We've got six Netbooks in the top 10, including the Asus Eee PC 1005HA, which we've held up as a classic example of a Netbook done right. Apple, and 13-inch laptops in general, are also well-represented. Interestingly, while five major PC brands are represented, there are a few big names missing in action, including Gateway, Lenovo, and Toshiba.

To see what the most popular laptops of 2009 were, based on reader interest, click through to the slideshow below.

Top 10 most popular laptops of 2009 (photos)

The Colossal Short Story Collection includes more than 2,000 stories--all for 99 cents.

Great news for fans of short fiction: The Colossal Short Stories Collection just landed in the App Store packing a whopping 2,222 public-domain works.

There are, of course, other story collections available for the iPhone and iPod Touch, but this is by far the largest one.

You'll find authors ranging from H.G. Wells and Mark Twain to Leo Tolstoy and Ring Lardner. All the greats are here, along with plenty of authors known mostly in scholarly circles.

The app lists them alphabetically by last name. Unfortunately, that's the only way to peruse the collection: you can't browse by story title, and there's no search option.

On the plus side, Colossal offers a font-size slider, automatic bookmarking (meaning it returns you to where you left off in any given story), manual bookmarking (for easy revisiting of a selected page or story), and a variable-speed auto-scrolling option.

If you've balked at the idea of reading books on your phone, perhaps because you think the screen is too small or there's too much page flipping involved, this might be a great way to start.

The average story in the Colossal collection takes 10-15 minutes to read, so it's like you get to test-drive e-books without committing to (or paying for) an entire novel.

The app has an introductory price of just 99 cents, meaning it's a no-brainer for anyone who likes to read. Even after it jumps to its permanent price of $4.99, it might just be the e-book bargain of the century.

On this week's Digital City, we tackle one of the most contentious issues of our time -- Mac vs. PC -- as Dan offers an enlightened path to peace for both camps. We also hear about some free municipal Wi-Fi for the new Times Square pedestrian mall; a sweet TV/PS3 combo deal at Best Buy; and discuss the fate of the vaporware-like CrunchPad.

Later, Scott laments the lack of Microsoft synergy in the Zune gaming business model; we check out some new game releases, including Zelda: Spirit Tracks and The Saboteur; and debate the ethics of adding adults-only DLC to games.

Quick note: tune in next week for a chance to win a Zune HD!

Related links:
>>A modest proposal: Detente between Mac and PC laptop fans
>>Can Zune gaming compete?
>>Times Square gets free WiFi

>>Watch the Digital City live every Monday at 3pm EST on CNET Live!
>>Subscribe to Digital City on iTunes
>>Join the Digital City Facebook fan page
>>Need more? Follow Dan on Twitter! And Scott!

Cori sent us treats! <3

(Credit: The 404/Sadacori)

Believe it or not, the fourth host on today's episode of CNET's The 404 Podcast is the Nook, Barnes & Noble's e-book reader with a color touch screen and Wi-Fi. The device is currently sold out and on back order throughout B&N, so it wasn't easy to obtain. We had to walk 500 miles and battle a Nazgul to get it, but the in-studio demo was worth the wait. If you haven't seen a Nook up close, you're in for a treat.

Speaking of treats, the holidays come early for The 404 this year! Today's episode starts off normal enough, with another story about a crazed girlfriend who destroys her boyfriend's precious PS3 and a couple making their own paranormal activity to fund their wedding, but the real story is the package we receive halfway through the live show from dedicated 404 listener Cori (Sadacori in the chat room). We've received care packages before, but this one is definitely the best. Just check out the picture up top! Thanks a million Cori, we really appreciate all the Yuletide pounds! :)

Our ill-deserved holiday break is coming up in two weeks, and we get awfully lonely if we don't hear from you, so won't you leave us a voice mail at 1-866-404-CNET and let us know how your holiday season is going? We'd love to hear your voices, but you can also e-mail us at the404(at)cnet[dot]com or add us on Twitter and Facebook as well!