The other night I handed the new Barnes and Noble HD+ to my son to see his reaction to one of the latest 9-inch tablets. He held it, played with the screen and said, “Which one is this?” I told him and he answered, “I can’t tell the difference anymore.” It’s true, with the sudden explosion of 7-, near-8-, 9- and 10-inch-plus tablets, it’s getting a little hard to tell which one is which -- especially when many larger tablets look like their tinier siblings.
Barnes and Noble’s large-format (9-inch) HD-screen entry, the HD+, is a quite similar to the 7-inch Nook HD. However, with its somewhat sharper corners and far-reduced black-screen border, it’s also more similar in appearance to larger tablets such as the Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9. What sets the Nook apart visually is the trademark nook hole in the lower left-hand corner. It appears to serve no visible purpose, though you could hold the roughly 18-ounce tablet by that corner without too much stress on your hand.
Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Brady Quinn had some thoughtful words on our plugged-in, tech-obsessed society: Step away from social networks, and pay closer attention to your real-life relationships.
"We live in a society of social networks and Twitter pages and Facebook. That's fine and stuff, but you know, we have contact with our work associates, our family, our friends and it seems like half the time we're more preoccupied with our phone and other things going on instead of the actual relationships we have in front of us," he said at a press conference on Dec. 2.
Meet the Novatel MiFi Liberate: the first mobile access point with a touchscreen, letting you configure it without connecting it to a computer.
If you're not familiar with mobile access points, these handy gadgets allow you to hook up to the Internet via cellular networks. It's useful, often essential, if you're in an area that has no Wi-Fi. If you're in range of a cellular tower, this MiFi Liberate lets you and up to 10 others get online using any Wi-Fi capable devices
Mobile access points are ideal for frequent travelers, accommodating anyone who needs to get online wherever they are. Just the fact that you're no longer at the mercy of hotels and their Wi-Fi price-gouging makes it worth the cost of admission.
Think watching television from home is the perfect alone time? Think againVerizon has filed patents for a TV set-top box equipped with cameras, motion sensors and microphones that would track the movements within a given room –- similar to that of Xbox's Kinect system.
According to the company's patent application, the set-top box is a “media content presentation system” that would select advertisements based on "ambient action" in the room. This may mean seeing more commercials for singles getaways when you're snuggling with a loved one.
The U.S. Department of Defense's DARPA arm is developing a drone that can deliver and precisely position a payload for deployment.
It can hover in place, much like a Harrier jet, and can fly like standard UAVs. What makes this drone even more special is its "precise autonomous payload placement."
"A special robotic arm was designed with the capability of carrying up to one pound," the agency said in a statement. The "precision emplacement technology demonstration paves the way for precise long-range delivery of small payloads into difficult-to-reach environments."
Tracking down quality visuals to accompany stories and blog posts can be difficult. Luckily, there are more than 200 million free photos on the web that are available for almost anyone to use -- as long as they follow the tenets of Creative Commons licensing
Creative Commons licensing permits bloggers and journalists access to photos taken by other people, for absolutely no charge. It's a great way to engage readers with more visually interesting content, and to expose photographers' work to a new audience.
It's been awhile since the big tech companies launched products in time for the holiday shopping season. So this week, tech news has mostly been filled with cool scientific developments and -- of course -- drones.
We learned about Swiss researchers who created an underwater drone that resembles a sea turtle, and a father who built a DIY drone to track his kid walking from home to the bus each morning
This week, we also took a look at new innovations: One groups of scientists created the lightbulb of the future, and another team built the largest-ever model of a functioning brain.
You miss your mom. She lives far away, and email or phone just don't cut it. You want to Skype with her, so she can get to know her grandkids — but computer screens are just so small and pixelated
Logitech TV cam connects to any Skype-enabled device, then delivers HD video chat to the big screen. The benefits are two-fold — bigger, better incoming images and a wider camera angle, so the little ones can run around and show off their latest tricks for grandma. For more, check out Logitech's promo video embedded below
If sources familiar with the matter are correct, Twitter might be getting into the photo-filter business before the end of this year. According to sources, the microblogging service is planning to add a variety of photo filters to its official app, and employees of the company are reportedly already testing the new features.
All Things Digital got a tip that such filters would be released on its app before the end of 2012. Meanwhile, The Next Web pointed out numerous telltale photos using black-and-white filters taken and posted by the company's chairman, Jack Dorsey.
You wouldn't dream of checking text messages or responding to email in the shower -- it's much too risky for your smartphone. But doing such tasks may soon be possible, as new technology will let you see information, such as a text, using special contact lenses
Belgian researchers are developing a spherical curved LCD display that can fit onto contact lenses. While other attempts have fallen short in the past, this technology could cover an entire lens worth of text, images and other visuals.
There's also a more practical use for these contact-lens screens: adaptable sunglasses. Similar to transition lenses for eyeglasses, the contact lenses would darken on exposure to light, to protect from the sun's rays, for example
It can be tough to keep up with all the new apps released every week. But you're in luck -- we take care of that for you, creating a roundup each weekend of our favorite new and updated apps.
This week a popular mobile photo editing app for iOS finally made its way to Android, and a hot email app for iOS saw a huge update.
We found an app that lets you create virtual glass art projects with your iPhone, and an app for Android that lets you find and purchase art projects that others have created.
It's the end of the year, but at Mashable we're looking forward. The top comments from our community this week encapsulated the sentiments common to the end of the year: reflection on the past and speculation about the future
By now you've probably noticed we've rolled out the brand new look for the site to all of our readers. The new Mashable is social, mobile and visual. Last week at the Media Summit, we heard time and time again that media organizations need to adapt to a reader-first, mobile-first mindset. At Mashable, our new design extends to our community as well. We've overhauled our commenting system to put our readers, and your voices, first. What do you think of the new Mashable? We welcome your feedback as we transition to our new design
A new YouTube video shows a man, identified as UPS delivery man Ken Jones, singing a hilarious version of "Winter Wonderland." In the video, uploaded Wednesday, Jones not only admits to being the jolly old elf who delivers cheer to all children, but also to being on a "scheduled break."
Watch the video, above, and don't forget to thank your postal and parcel delivery person this holiday season.
We all know the Internet can be an incredible resource. It can also be quite difficult to navigate. New websites and apps constantly appear, and the old ones are always being updated
To help you make the most of your digital experience, we at Mashable keep you up with the latest information, whether it's a great new app or gadget, a nifty nerdy gift idea or advice on how to be a productive member of the various social networks.
We understand you're busy and might have missed some of our articles the first time around, which is why at the end of each week we round up our most usable posts. This week's features roundup has everything you need to make sure your holiday season is filled with cheer, from great gifts in our Gift of the Day series, to YouTube videos to get you in the spirit.
Wouldn't it be great to answer your front door with a smartphone? That's the promise of Doorbot, a Wi-Fi-enabled doorbell that alerts you whenever someone pushes its button, sending audio and video to your smartphone.
The battery-operated device installs at your threshold with four screws in a bracket. Once you've downloaded its free app and synced any iOS device or Android smartphone with it, you can see and converse with visitors at your door. The app will alert you whenever the button is pushed.
If you find your mall Santa experience unsatisfactory this year, be sure to complain on Facebook.
It could get Santa fired.
That’s what happened at the Maine Mall in Portland. On Monday, Mother Jess Mailhiot wrote on the mall’s Facebook page that the mall’s Santa refused to let her young daughter sit on his lap because she didn’t purchase pictures:
Because we did not purchase any photo packages the gentleman mumble something to Santa and when my daughter who is six was going to sit on his lap Santa put his hands together and placed them on his legs so she couldn't sit on him. Santa was not attentive and brushed her off all because we did not purchase pictures. Why don't you just put up a sign saying NO PICTURES NO SANTA. My daughter was hurt and I so disappointed. Shame on you!
Photos have a way of transporting us to a place that words cannot. What's captured in the fraction of a second it takes to snap a picture can live forever. During 2012, we saw some truly inspiring moments; moments now seared into our minds because of the photography that captured the subtleties of emotion, triumph and grace in the face of adversity.
24. Afghan boy
An Afghan boy sells balloons on the side of a road on November 11, 2012 in Kabul, Afghanistan(Photo by Daniel Berehulak/Getty Images)
The 2013 Chevy Spark is a relatively low-priced, unusual-looking car -- one that's scarcely 12 feet long and bristling with the latest technology. I tested one over the course of a week, and was especially excited to try out its smartphone integration technology.
At first glance, the Spark has the kind of design you'll either love or hate. Its tall, squat appearance looks cute to me. Even if you don't like its odd profile, this 5-door hatchback's shape is practical, allowing its interior to be roomy enough for a 6'3" guy like me
It was another busy week at Mashable. Not only were we hustling to cover the news, test new gadgets and share our opinions, but we launched a whole new site. And there was that day Grumpy Cat came to the office -- let's not forget that
In case you got a little busy too during the week, we've compiled a list of some of our top news stories, including the opportunity to turn Grumpy Cat into your own holiday meme/card, what Tim Cook had to say about Scott Forstall's exit from Apple, and what happens when Jay-Z takes the New York City subway. Check out the list below to catch up on all the stories you may have missed
It's tempting to immediately check your phone when it notifies you of a new text message. But ignoring that sound when operating a vehicle is important for safe driving -- something that can be difficult, especially for teenagers
The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) added distracted driving to its 2013 "most-wanted list" in November. So far, 35 states have passed laws banning cellphone use while driving, however some of those bans only pertain to beginner drivers
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