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Navigon's MobileNavigator app continues to improve with features like text-to-speech and location sharing.

For the second time in as many months, Navigon has released an update to its MobileNavigator GPS app. The big news this time? Text-to-speech.

Since MobileNavigator debuted in late July, the App Store has grown crowded with competitors, including CoPilot Live, iGo My Way, and TomTom.

But not one of them offers the coveted text-to-speech feature (yet), which announces actual street names instead of just saying "turn right ahead."

MobileNavigator 1.2.0 adds that highly desirable capability--along with a few others. A new integrated iPod control provides one-tap access to your media library. A new location-sharing feature lets you e-mail your location, an address, or a point of interest. (If the recipient is also a MobileNavigator user, the attached link fires up the app with the destination already programmed in.)

Finally, the update includes automatic switching (based on time and location) between day and night modes. In other words, if it starts getting dark out, the app will switch to a less-glaring map view. Nice!

One other noteworthy change: It appears Navigon has settled on $89.99 as the price for MobileNavigator--$10 less than was originally planned. That's nice, but it's still higher than iGo ($79.99) and CoPilot ($34.99).

Also, real-time traffic updates are still MIA. While you're waiting on that, check out the Inrix Traffic app, which I've found to be an excellent road companion.

For the moment, the arrival of text-to-speech gives MobileNavigator an edge over competing GPS apps. If you've tried some or all of them, hit the comments to let me know which navigator you like best--and why.

(Credit: creativeloafing.com)

As the relationship between the iPod, iPhone, and iTunes gets ever more complicated with apps, photo and video sharing, and iTunes 9 management options, one thing still remains clear: syncing with a computer, be it desktop or laptop, is still a pain in the butt. But sharing content between computers authorized under a shared iTunes account has just gotten a little easier.

Buried in Apple's press conference amid iPod and iTunes news was an announcement of Home Sharing, a service that will make transferring music and movies between the five computers that your content a simpler matter than it's ever been. Although Apple didn't demonstrate this feature extensively during the keynote, we hope it works as well as it sounds like it does. While enabling easier use of purchased content is a welcome idea, here's a better one: why not finally allow a user to create a home media server that all their computers and wireless devices can access seamlessly over Wi-Fi from anywhere in the world?

Such technology already exists via third-party software and hardware, but none of them work as easily as Apple's baked-in software. Services such as Spotify begin to tackle the problem via the cloud, but replicating existing technology has never stopped Apple before (see Time Capsule, for instance). But a media server is still a great idea for them to get behind...if only they would. We've been waiting since 2008, but news has gone dim on the server front.

If authorization is the concern, Apple can still restrict its server software to five machines. But freeing the iDevice from its slave computer is the true end goal, and the only way to get there is with a server.

Apple's Time Capsule and Apple TV have begun to explore elements of such a device, but neither allow seamless consolidation and storage access for media in the way that's truly needed. The Apple TV is a closed box and has limited storage space compared to the Time Capsule, but the Time Capsule doesn't have any media-sharing server software, making streaming content off it quite difficult, and certainly not seamless. Of course, there is the Mac Mini, which some say is Apple's missing media server. The problem is that the Mini isn't as single-purpose as a server could be...and its included storage capacity isn't server-size.

An Apple Media Box is the missing link, and would conceivably sell like hotcakes. So, where is it? And why did we spend all day watching demos of Nanos with cameras and FM radios instead?

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

iTunes 9 was announced today at this year's annual music event from Apple. Named the "It's Only Rock and Roll event," Apple didn't disappoint with the return of Steve Jobs, upgraded (and cheaper) iPod Nanos and Shuffles, and plenty of new iPhone app demonstrations from third-party developers. As many predicted, iTunes 9 (Mac or Windows) was also on the agenda and it received a number of cool new feature enhancements to make navigation and syncing to your devices easier. iTunes 9 is available today, but has not yet been added to Apple's software update service.

iTunes 9 has been cleaned up for easier navigation, redesigned with a new layout and a new black tabbed-menu system across the top of the iTunes Store interface. These new tabs replace the old left-side navigation to choose between categories like music, apps, movies, and podcasts. The layout for new content in the iTunes Store has been improved as well, with more browsable content in every category.

iTunes 9 photos

Along with the iTunes Store interface enhancements, Apple announced newly packaged digital content it referred to as "LPs." According to Apple, buying the full album will now give you new content, kind of like extras on a DVD. You can show songs with lyrics, explore bonus content, and check out extra content created by the musicians themselves. Additionally, you get the same new content for movies, with extras, bonus content, chapter selection, character details, and more.

The way you interact with apps on the iPhone and the iPod Touch has also been improved. Now your home screen can be interacted with visually, right inside the iTunes window, letting you drag apps wherever you want before syncing to your device. Apps can be dragged from page to page and within pages, and when you're done you can apply the changes to sync them to your device. iPhone syncing has been improved as well, with the ability to selectively sync specific artists or playlists, or sync your photos by specific albums or faces.

The new interface buttons across the top act as pull-down menus so you can drill down to the content you want.

(Credit: Screenshot by Jason Parker/CNET)

Steve Jobs also announced that iTunes now offers Home Sharing. This new feature will let you share purchased songs across a home network. As long as all the computers on the network are on the same iTunes account, you can drag to copy songs to other computers. iTunes 9 also will automatically sync new purchases across your computers.

Overall, with new interface enhancements to the iTunes Store, a better way to organize apps on your iPhone or iPod Touch, and improvements to syncing, the new iTunes update offers plenty of improvements for iTunes users. As a free update, iTunes 9 is a no-brainer for those who use the program.

(Credit: Screenshot by Lori Grunin/CNET, photos by Lori Grunin, Michael Ricca/CNET)

Photoshop.com may be Flash-y and Air-y with photo-editing capabilities, but it surprisingly still seems to lag sites like Flickr and Facebook when it comes to various sharing features. For instance, only this week has Adobe launched video-hosting and group album capabilities (available for free accounts as well as paid), long available from its competitors.

There are some done-it-better aspects, however. For example, Adobe allows for larger videos: a maximum of 2GB vs. Flickr's 150GB/90 seconds. Of course, the more large videos you upload the closer it will push you to the 2GB storage maximum of a free account. As it's taking forever (it's up to about an hour and still hasn't completed) to process my short 177MB video, however--everything gets transcoded to Flash video--I shudder to think how long a 2GB file would take.

There are still a few UI kinks to work out as well. If you e-mail an invite to someone at an e-mail address other than the one connected to their Adobe ID, there's no way to link the addresses or even allow the person to reply to you with the correct address.

People you invite as Collaborators to Group Albums aren't automatically added as your friends. And while it notifies you via e-mail of updates to the album there don't seem to be other notification options, like posting Twitter, Facebook, or even an RSS feed. (Concurrently with the rollout, Adobe updated Photoshop.com's terms of service. There doesn't seem to be anything objectionable in the new terms. Yay!)

You can see how Photoshop.com's editing capabilities stack up against the competition in 15 online photo editors compared.

Pure Digital Technologies, maker of the Flip series digital video recorders, has a new update for its FlipShare software going out Tuesday that makes it easier to share videos without having to use YouTube, MySpace, or another video hosts.

Users can now create channels that can only be accessed by users who have been invited by e-mail. Any time you add a video to one of these channels, the people on your list get a message that contains thumbnail previews and direct links to the newly added clips. While the video quality may not be up to snuff compared with watching your HD-recorded content via a host that supports HD, it's certainly not bad.

The channels feature has been designed largely to satisfy the needs of Flip users who want to share items privately. While shared videos aren't as social as if you had shared them on a site like YouTube or MySpace, you do get a higher level of control over what users can see after having sent them the link; permission to view certain video items can be taken away at any time. You can also drag videos in and out of channels to change the clips you want people to see.

Channel sharing lets you share videos to specific people privately, and without the use of third-party video hosts.

(Credit: CNET)

Along with the addition of channels to the FlipShare software, the company is announcing an application for the iPhone that will let you, and people you've shared videos with, watch clips right on the device. However the application will not be available for download until it receives approval from Apple. This is interesting in itself, since the newly announced iPhone 3G S will let users record video on their device, edit it, and upload it to various hosts. For many, this will reduce the appeal of Flip's devices since you cannot do any editing or uploading without first connecting it to a computer.

The Kodak EasyShare M820 can be had for less than $100.

(Credit: Kodak)

Kodak offers a number of digital photo frames, including models that feature built-in wireless connectivity and even cutting edge OLED display technology. However, its 8-inch EasyShare M820, available for less than $100, is an attractive option for consumers hoping to balance affordability with some advanced features in a reasonably sized frame.

Some digital photo frames have real wood or metal finishes, but this is strictly a plastic affair. With its simple, slim black border, the frame looks elegant enough from afar and comes with two stick-on decorative mattes (one is red, the other silver) that allow you to customize the frame's look. The kickstand on the back swivels, giving you the option of locking the frame into horizontal or vertical orientation. On the back of the frame there are keyhole slots for mounting the frame to a wall with screws, along with a threaded tripod mount if you want to prop it up with a tripod.

In terms of features, the M820 is a step up from the basic package found in the entry-level P820 and P720--but you don't get the wireless connectivity found in Kodak's W-series photo frames, which include the W820 and W1020. The main upgrade here over the P series is support for video and MP3 playback (you can play music in the background of slideshows) and some built-in memory. There are two small speakers built into the back of the frame.

Read the full review to get all the details.

Compare to competing frames that cost under $150.

Canon's new Rebel T1i SLR

(Credit: Canon USA)

Thus far, SLR camera sales have been a bright spot in the camera market, but analyst firm IDC expects the recession will hit the higher-end models, too.

Worldwide camera shipments are expected to drop 6 percent to 129 million units in 2009. Single-lens reflex (SLR) shipments won't be hit as hard, but still will drop 5 percent to 9.2 million units, according to an IDC forecast released Monday.

"Countries will emerge from the global recession in mid-2010, starting with the U.S. However, unemployment will lag behind the recovery, dampening consumer spending for the next two years, particularly on big-ticket items like digital SLRs," analyst Christopher Chute said in a statement.

SLR cameras are bulkier and more expensive, but offer better responsiveness, interchangeable lenses, and higher image quality. With the compact camera market largely saturated, SLRs have shown relatively strong growth.

The overall market should continue its decline by another 1 percent to about 128 million from 2009 to 2010, but growth should return and the market should reach 148 million units in 2013, IDC said.

In the U.S. declines are sharper he said: digital SLR sales will drop 7 percent to 2.4 million cameras from 2008 to 2009, while the overall market should decrease 10 percent to 36 million units.

(Credit: Sarah Tew/CBS Interactive)

Do you like to share your iPod's music with a friend, offering up one half of your earbuds so you can both listen at once? Or perhaps you have children that have to share one portable DVD player in the backseat of the car on long trips. Whatever the case, if you constantly find yourself one earbud short of stereo, Mida Interactive has one possible solution for you.

The ShareBuds MX Twin Stereo Earphones offer two pairs of earbuds integrated into one product. A single 3.5mm headphone plug can connect to any standard, portable audio source and is attached to a cord that eventually splits into four independent earbuds, allowing two users to share one experience without having to listen in mono. Sure, the cable-heavy design makes twists and tangles unavoidable--and the $40 price tag is a touch high when you consider a headphone splitter will set you back less than $5--but the ShareDuds offer an innovative way to provide stereo audio to two people at once.

Read the ShareBuds MX Twin Stereo Earphones review

ShareBuds MX Twin Stereo Earphones photos

Six months after the initial release of the WD ShareSpace NAS server that offers up to 4TB of storage, Western Digital is now ready to double the storage space of the device.

The company announced Tuesday that its WD ShareSpace network storage server now offers up to 8TB of capacity, DLNA2 media-streaming capabilities, and more importantly, up to 30 percent faster transfer speed.

The WD ShareSpace NAS server.

(Credit: Western Digital)

This is really good news if the new WD ShareSpace offers the same speed as the recently reviewed My Book World Edition; it would be a huge improvement from the predecessor.

The new WD ShareSpace NAS server is now capable of streaming photos, music, and videos to popular DLNA-certified devices including Windows Vista PCs, PlayStation3, and Xbox 360.

Other than that, the new WD ShareSpace shares the same design and feature set with the previous model. It has a rather small footprint for a NAS server that has four bays and supports 3.5-inch hard drives.

The new NAS also includes WD Anywhere Backup software that provides automatic and continuous protection for valuable data from every PC and Mac on the network. In my experience, however, the software, though it works as intended, tends to bog down the computer's performance when a backup is being made.

The new 8TB capacity WD ShareSpace NAS server will be available later this week and costs $1,700. It will also be available in 2TB and 4TB versions, which cost less accordingly.