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Holiday Gift Guide: Gadget Ideas for Stocking Stuffers

As we near the home stretch for the holiday season, now's a good time to check out the old holiday gift list. If you're thinking of using gadgets as stocking stuffers, here are some gadget ideas for both grownups and kids.

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Portable Electronics Spotlight10

Jason's Portable Electronics Blog

Google eBookstore Officially Launches Today

Monday December 6, 2010

Google's seeding yet another cloud today as it officially opened the virtual doors of the Google eBookstore.

With some already pretty established rivals such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble in the field, Google's wading into this fight loaded for bear (and I don't mean the Berenstein Bears — although it looks like an extensive selection of Berenstein Bears books also are available). The Google eBookstore has more than 3 million books available, most of which are free. Of course, not everything can be free so the store also includes "hundreds of thousands" of eBooks that are for sale.

Like Google services such as Gmail and Google Docs, the eBookstore will be based in the cloud. That means your eBooks will be stored in Google's servers, and you'll need to set up an account and password to access the service. eBooks can be read both online and offline once synced to your eReading device. Compatibility is pretty broad and includes Web browsers; Apple "i" devices such as the iPad, iPhone and iPod; Android devices; and eReaders such as the Nook, Sony's Reader line, Aluratek Libre, IREX, etc.

No, I didn't forget to include the Kindle there. Here's the lowdown straight from Google: "Currently, Google eBooks are not compatible with Amazon Kindle devices, though we are open to supporting them in the future."

For more details, check out the Google eBookstore. You can also check out our eReader Hub for more info about eBook readers.

Samsung Galaxy Tab Sells 1 Million Units

Friday December 3, 2010

samsung-galaxy-tab

Sales figures are in for Samsung's 7-inch Galaxy Tab slate tablet and, to quote Seinfeld, the numbers are both real and spectacular.

The Galaxy Tab, which was officially announced by Samsung in September and launched globally in mid-October, has now sold 1 million units. Not bad for less than two months in the market.

Samsung's Tab still has a ways to catch up to the iPad's even more real and spectacular 7.2 million units sold since it launched earlier this year. But the company is now confident that it will make its goal of 1.5 million units sold by the end of the year.

The company is also working on a 10-inch device to round out its tablet offerings. If that size sounds eerily familiar, yes, that's pretty close to the iPad's 9.7-inch screen size. For more about tablets, check out our slate tablet roundup.

Photo © Samsung

Coby's Android-Powered Kyros Tablet Sports $250 Price Tag

Wednesday December 1, 2010

Is seven the new 10 when it comes to tablet screen size?

Fresh from the heels of Samsung's recent launch of its 7-inch Android-powered Galaxy Tab, Coby has unveiled an Android tablet to call its own with a screen size of — you guessed it — 7 inches.

The Kyros MID7015 sports a resistive touchscreen and Android 2.1. For video lovers, the Kyros also can output video up to 1080p via high-speed HDMI.

Built in memory is only 4GB so movie buffs will need to invest in a MicroSD card (up to 16GB) to accommodate that high-def content. App lovers also will likely not be too thrilled that applications will be provided via the AppsLib store instead of the Android Market.

A key advantage for the device, though, is cost. In the tradition of Coby products, the tablet comes in at the budget-friendly price of $250. Of course, the question now is just how well the user interface performs.

For full specs, check our Coby Kyros MID7015 preview. For other tablets, don't forget to check out our Slate PC & Tablet Roundup.

Coby Kyros

Image © Coby

Analyst: PC's to Lose 10 Percent of Sales to Tablets

Monday November 29, 2010

Remember when tablets were niche products that didn't sell too well? My what a difference a year makes.

Following the successful launch of the iPad earlier this year, companies such as Samsung and Acer are also wading into the suddenly hot tablet jacuzzi. In fact, research firm Gartner now predicts that tablets will displace 10 percent of PC sales by 2014, according to Reuters.

Gartner also cut its growth forecast for PC sales this year from 17.9 percent to 14.3 percent.

"These results reflect marked reductions in expected near-term unit growth based on expectations of weaker consumer demand, due in no small part to growing user interest in media tablets such as the iPad," said Gartner research director Ranjit Atwal in a statement.

For more on tablets, don't forget to check our Slate & Tablet hub.

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