Digital Camcorders buying guide - A variety of camcorders for all levels

Whether you just want a handy device for casual shooting or you earn a living producing broadcast-quality professional video, you can find a camcorder that’s right for you. Camcorders span the gamut from pocket-size devices to shoulder-mounted professional models to twin-lens 3D models. We summarize the different types available to point you in the right direction.
There has looked at a variety of camcorders for all levels, so there's no question that you can also find something to match any size wallet: Camcorder costs range from less than $100 to thousands of dollars. Here’s what you’ll get in each camcorder class.

1. Pocket Camcorders ($80 to $250)

The darlings of the YouTube set, pocket camcorders are great for anyone looking for low cost and convenience in an HD camcorder. These camcorders are popular because of their supreme convenience and portability: Stick one in your bag or purse, shoot some video when inspiration strikes, plug the camcorder into your computer, and upload your work to your favorite sharing or social networking site.

Many pocket camcorders use the MPEG-4/H.264 codec; it requires relatively little horsepower, so you can pipe video into your Mac very quickly. Most pocket camcorders have a flip-out USB jack that you can plug directly into your desktop Mac or laptop; you don’t need to fiddle with a cable. One model, Kodak’s PlaySport ($150), is weatherized and waterproof. You can take it swimming and even film underwater (to depths of 10 feet).

Pocket camcorders are only slightly thicker and taller than a smartphone, and they cost as little as $80, which makes them practical stocking stuffers for the holidays. Just don’t expect too much from them. Their small lenses, “lossy” MPEG-4 codec, lack of manual controls, and tiny on-board microphones yield inferior video and audio quality compared to conventional camcorders. Also, be sure to check whether the pocket camcorder you're considering uses fixed internal storage or lets you use a removable memory card to store your footage.

2. Standard-definition camcorders ($180 to $330)

High definition (HD) is all the rage, so should you even bother considering a standard definition (SD) camcorder? If you’re looking ahead to the future, no. But if you need something inexpensive but still full-featured right now, maybe.

SD is slowly fading from the scene, but for budget-conscious buyers who want to shoot decent-quality video, it can be a cost-effective option. Plenty of good-quality SD camcorders are available for $200 to $300; that’s about half the price of the equivalent HD models. Standard definition video files are smaller and easier to work with, and you can render them quickly on a less-powerful computer, store many more hours of SD than HD video to your hard drive, and back up to DVD more easily. Nearly all current SD models use flash memory in place of DV tape.

Many households still have standard definition televisions, so HD may be overkill for them. That said, the extra money spent on an HD camcorder translates into richer, more-vivid video to watch when you get an HDTV set. HD camcorders usually support downconverting HD video to standard definition. If you have a standard definition TV and a tight budget, SD is a valid option.

3. HD consumer camcorders ($300 to $1000)

If you want better HD video quality in a camcorder and more options, but also want a unit that's portable, reasonably priced, and easy to use, the traditional consumer camcorder may be for you.

These models are bigger than pocket camcorders, but not by much—you can easily slip one into a large coat pocket. Besides capturing video of much better quality, these camcorders offer more options and controls, and they usually include SD card slots for removable storage media.

Most HD consumer camcorders use AVCHD, a codec that imposes heavy demands on your computer but preserves most of the original video's richness and crispness. Most of the components are scaled up from the pocket camcorder: You get more memory, bigger lenses and sensors, and sharper, more spacious LCD panels—sometimes with touchscreen controls.

The pricier conventional cams offer features similar to what you find on professional and other high-end ("prosumer") models, such as mic jacks, hot shoes for accessories like external video lights and microphones, and manual controls for focus, shutter speed, aperture, and other settings.

One feature that has largely disappeared from the conventional lineup is the eye-level electronic viewfinder (EVF). LCD panels have become remarkably crisp and vivid, but many experienced users prefer EVFs because they cut down on glare and save on battery power. With the increased power demands of an always-on LCD panel and with the camcorder recording data-rich HD video, it’s more important than ever to pay attention to battery life.

4. HD prosumer camcorders ($1000 to $3000)

You’ve used conventional camcorders for some time, learning their ins and outs while shooting birthday parties and picnics. Now you’re ready to take the next step—maybe even taking on paid jobs such as shooting weddings or shooting B roll for a professional videographer. In those cases, a prosumer camcorder may be for you.

Prosumer camcorders offer a few advantages over mainstream consumer models: higher quality components (especially sensors and lenses), extensive manual controls and shooting modes, and in many cases true 24p (24-frames-per-second progressive) shooting to produce video that closely resembles motion picture film.
Prosumer models also provide better audio quality and audio options. Audio often gets short shrift in lower-end models, but many experienced users value clean, crisp audio as much as top-notch video. During a corporate shoot, for example, it’s important to be able to hear the speaker clearly.

Most prosumer models let users add adapters to upgrade to professional XLR audio connections. These balanced-audio connections dramatically reduce line noise and hum, even if you run long cables from a tripod-mounted camcorder at the back of the auditorium to a microphone positioned near the stage.

Prosumer camcorders tend to be larger and heavier than their consumer-oriented cousins, and for good reason. A large, well-balanced camcorder is much easier to stabilize than an ever-shrinking consumer camcorder, resulting in less-shaky video. The increased size also accommodates a larger number of manual controls, such as rotatable rings for focus and aperture controls, and dedicated buttons to set white balance. It’s much easier to have a physical control at hand than to waste time poking around for it in the LCD screen menu.

Most prosumer models retain the electronic viewfinder—useful for avoiding the sun’s glare during shooting—and it’s often easier to hold the camcorder steady when you’re holding it up to your eye.

As you take more and more jobs, video archiving becomes more important, both to build your own portfolio and to keep backups of work shot for your clients. For these reasons, many prosumer models still use DV tape, often in addition to removable flash memory. Because of its reliability and durability, DV tape remains one of the most popular video archive media, but robust forms of flash memory such as Compact Flash are making serious inroads.

5. Twin-lens 3D camcorders ($1000 to $2000)

If you'd like to boldly go where few home-video enthusiasts have gone before—the third dimension!—then you might want to step up to a 3D camcorder. While it's possible to recreate a 3D effect in still images with a single lens, you'll need a twin-lens setup to record 3D video. A few options are available now: Full HD camcorders with two built-in lenses, detachable 3D conversion lenses for high-definition camcorders, and pocketable models with two built-in lenses.

Just remember, 3D is a different beast altogether. Here are the major things to consider if 3D sounds enticing. First and foremost, you'll need a 3D TV or a 3D-capable computer setup for playing back your footage in full, three-dimensional glory. Second, in order to play back your 3D footage, you'll likely need to connect your camcorder to your 3D TV via HDMI and use it as a playback device. And third, you'll need to make sure that your video-editing software supports 3D footage if you intend to edit your clips.

At this stage, we'd recommend a 3D camcorder only for the unintimidated. If you're up to the challenge, you could become a true 3D video pioneer, because there isn't much competition out there in terms of 3D-minded directors. Besides, all the 3D video-capture devices on the market also shoot 2D video, so you're not locked into the third dimension if you don't get the hang of it.

6. Video-capable digital SLRs ($1000 to $5000)

Use a still camera to shoot professional-quality video? It’s not as crazy as it seems. The latest DSLR cameras are video-capable, capturing HD video as well as excellent still images. For the money, video-capable DSLRs offer exceptionally large sensors and very good lenses, so users can produce excellent video.
The video is so good, in fact, that DSLR-shot video is cropping up in TV and film productions, including last season’s final episode of House and in a Formula One chase scene in Ironman II. HD video DSLRs offer a combination of small size and strong depth-of-field control, so users can shoot from locations that are too cramped for a bulky professional camcorder.

HD-capable DSLRs are not for everyone, though, especially for people interested in shooting and editing long footage. Most of these cameras shoot MPEG-2 video, which can choke home-editing station setups once file sizes get larger than a few GB (only about 10 to 15 minutes of full HD video). TV and film producers rarely feel limited by this size restriction, because they shoot short scenes, but casual shooters sometimes want to shoot longer footage. Many of these cameras offer only manual focus in video mode, which everyday shooters may find too much of a hassle to operate.

7. Professional camcorders ($5000 and up)

Pro-level camcorders are very pricey, but they're an essential investment if you want to make video production your life’s work. You'll find a vast array of models designed for different types of shooting environments, but in general you'll get the highest quality components available in camcorders, especially lenses, and you can customize operation in many more ways than you can with less-expensive camcorder types.

Many pro-level camcorders let you swap lenses, so you can optimize your video acquisition for the shooting environment. For example, you can switch to a wide-angle lens for tight camera work in a small room or set, and then swap in a zoom lens for greater depth of field in outdoor shoots. Most pro camcorders are larger than other models, and they permit extensive customization via a wide range of programmable buttons, dials, and rocker switches that let you tailor the camcorder controls to your needs.

Pro camcorders offer redundant controls arranged around the camera body and handle so that you have convenient access to your important controls—whether you mount the unit on a tripod, set it on your shoulder, or hold it low for ground-level shoots. Most pro models come with built-in XLR connectors—no adapters needed—for clean, noise-free audio.

In the pro-video world, video archiving is critical.

Many of these camcorders use hard-disk drives and tape for archiving and data durability, but camcorder makers are adding Compact Flash (CF) slots, too. CF cards are bigger than SD cards, and they’re easier to handle, faster, and more durable.

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Is that Google+ wants to usher in the masses?

Television doesn't exactly have a fabulous track record as a vehicle for promoting Web sites.
In fact, when I think about TV ads for Web properties, what springs to mind are all those pricey Super Bowl spots for Web 1.0 sites that flopped, such as Pets.com, LifeMinders.com, and OurBeginning.com.

So I'm intrigued by Google's decision to run a commercial for its Google+ social network during yesterday's Lions-Packers game. My colleague Chris Matyszczyk has already shared his thoughts on the spot, which you can watch in its entirety over at his post.

Google's decision to plunk down what must have been a very large chunk of change for the ad is the latest sign that it wants vast numbers of normal folks to discover Google+ and use it to share stuff with other normal folks. It wants to take on Facebook directly and rapidly, in a way that no other company could dream of doing.

I like Google+ and would like to see more people I know show up there. For that matter, I like Facebook, too--but I think it never hurts for a big, powerful technology company to have at least one formidable rival. So I'm rooting for Google+ to be a success.

But I''m also worrying a little bit about its prospects. Or at least the prospects of Facebook fans watching a TV commercial, trying Google+, and deciding they'd rather spend time there.

(I'm even worrying about non-nerds finding Google+ after watching the ad, which briefly shows the somewhat geeky URL google.com/+ at the end.)

The TV spot's tagline is "Sharing but like real life." That continues the sales pitch that Google has made for Google+ from the beginning. It says that the Circles feature, which lets you build groups of friends and share selectively with them, makes online sharing feel more natural than it does on Facebook. (Okay, Google never mentions Facebook, but let's face it: It's not comparing Google+ to MySpace or Friendster.)

Is selective sharing a compelling enough idea to make Google+ a mainstream hit? I'm not so sure. For one thing, if the feature is so alluring, it's easy enough for Facebook to play it up more than it did in the pre-Google+ era. In fact, it's already doing so.

For another thing, maybe Facebook's unprecedented success shows that the deep-seated human need to be picky about who we share with, as portentiously explained in Google's ad, isn't so deep-seated after all. Maybe it turns out that people like sharing widely and indiscriminately, in a way that isn't possible in other parts of "real life."

I know I do, anyhow. When I share something random on Facebook and get comments from a childhood pal, a coworker from my first job, and a recent acquaintance, it pleases me. I wouldn't have that experience if I was obsessively sorting my friends into buckets. And that's why I share openly on both Google+ and Facebook.

Already, Facebook feels like real life to me. Most of the people I know are on it at least occasionally, and many of them are so devoted to it that they've replicated their lovable selves there in digital form.

By comparison, Google+--despite its clever interface and attractive features--feels more clinical and less emotional. (Most of the people I interact there fall into one of two groups: professional geek friends and utter strangers.)

Unlike Slate's Farhad Manjoo, I don't think that Google+ is going to die. But I don't believe it's going to be a destination that lures hundreds of millions of people away from Facebook, either.

Google+'s best shot at success involves it becoming indistinguishable from Google. Instead of being a place, it can be the social glue that ties together Google's search engine, Gmail, Google Apps, and scads of other services that hundreds of millions of people already use. If Google figures out how to make its whole dang world feel like a Facebook competitor, it'll be a big deal.

There's lots of evidence that the company is trying to do just that, including the very name "Google+." So I remain cautiously bullish on its long-term chances. But if Google+ is flourishing a few years from now, I'll bet that absolutely nobody thinks that TV commercials made the difference.

Kindle Fire vs Nook Tablet: How to choose the best one?

After further testing and spending more time with both the Amazon Kindle Fire and the Barnes & Noble Nook Tablet, we've updated our reviews and ratings.

To cut to the chase: we're giving the Nook Tablet a slightly higher rating, thanks largely to its hardware advantages--a better screen, better responsiveness (thanks, likely, to having twice as much RAM as the Fire), expandable storage, and the inclusion of some convenient physical controls such as a volume control and a home key.

So, does that mean you should definitely choose the Nook Tablet over the Kindle Fire?

The answer, somewhat frustratingly, is, "It depends."

To help clarify which device is best for each consumer, here's a quick breakdown.

The screen: The Nook Tablet's screen uses the same 1,024x600-pixel resolution found on the Kindle Fire, but it looks better to our eyes. Just like on the Nook Color, Barnes & Noble made an effort to eliminate the gap between the LCD panel and the glass above it, giving images and text a crisper look. Apps also appear to fit the screen's resolution better than on the Kindle Fire, perhaps due to the differences in how the devices eat into the screen real estate with their own menus and navigation elements. The Netflix app, in particular, looks much better on the Nook Tablet than on the Kindle Fire, though this may change as updates roll out.

Room to expand: Yes, it's annoying that the Nook Tablet only reserves 1GB of space for dragged-and-dropped user content (basically audio and video files). But the built-in 16GB still leaves twice as much space for apps as on the Kindle Fire, and once you invest $15 to $25 in a microSD card, you can have up to 32GB of your own content.

Kids' books: Barnes & Noble has championed color e-books for kids since the introduction of the Nook Color in 2009. The Nook Tablet's integrated microphone allows parents to record as they read to their children.

Magazines: The selection of subscription and single-issue magazines on the Nook Tablet looks better than what's available through Amazon. Most of the available magazines preserve the design of the print edition's layout, creating a reading experience closer to the real thing.

A more traditional tablet interface: As with most Android tablets, the Nook Tablet's home screen acts like a virtual desktop that you can customize with your favorite items and spread across multiple pages. The Kindle Fire doesn't allow as much home screen customization, though some may prefer the simplicity of its one-page home screen.

Battery life: Battery testing is still in progress but it would seem that Barnes & Noble has a decisive lead.
In-store service and benefits: Walk into any Barnes & Noble store with your Nook Tablet and you can take advantage of pricing specials, book previews, free Wi-Fi, and in-person support.

Price: The $50 premium you're paying for the Nook Tablet isn't chump change. Plus you may need to invest in a microSD card if you want to load it up with your own music, videos, and photos.

No video download service: It's easy to get music onto the Nook Tablet--just drag and drop tracks you buy from iTunes (or even Amazon.com). Video is another story. While there are great streaming apps like Netflix and Hulu Plus, there's currently no legal way to rent or purchase video files on the device for those frequent times when you don't have reliable Wi-Fi Internet access, such as on a long flight. This may change in the future--possibly with the addition of Vudu or a similar app--but for now, the Kindle Fire has the edge here.
No Amazon Prime-style membership advantage: Buying or renewing a B&N Membership ($25 per year) entitles you to that same amount deducted from the purchase of a Nook Tablet or Nook Color. Members are also entitled to in-store and online discounts and free shipping for print books, but no other tangible benefits for using the Nook itself. Compare that with the Amazon Prime benefits listed below.

Required charging adapter: It's annoying that you have no option but to use the included power adapter to charge the Nook Tablet. If you lose it, you'll need to buy a new one from Barnes & Noble. In fairness, it's best to charge the Kindle Fire with its included power adapter, but it's at least possible to charge it using a generic Micro-USB cable.

Amazon Prime: "Free" videos and books (Kindle Owners' Lending Library) and free two-day shipping on Amazon orders are included for the first month at no cost, but it costs $79 per year to maintain. If you're already hooked on Amazon's Prime service then the Kindle Fire is an easy recommendation to make.
Customized interface: The Kindle Fire's radically simple user interface behaves nothing like a smartphone or a computer, and for many, that's a good thing.

Cloud access to everything: For the Kindle Fire, the "cloud" is more than just a promise to let users redownload their purchased content. Customers are given a free 5GB Cloud Drive account to which they can upload any music, photos, videos, or documents they want access to. Additional cloud storage can be purchased at reasonable rates.

Offline video downloads: Some, though not all, of Amazon's digital video library can be downloaded for offline playback.

Not much storage space: Books and documents take up very little room, but if you have your heart set on stocking the Kindle Fire with your personal music and video library, you should keep your expectations low. The maximum amount of video content we were able to successfully load onto the Kindle Fire was 5GB. Depending on the resolution of the video files involved, that could be three or four 720p movies or a season's worth of a standard-definition TV show. Either way, the Nook Tablet is designed to accept up to 32GB of microSD card storage, and is a clear winner when it comes to file hoarding.

Hardware compromises: There is nothing we love about the Kindle Fire's design. The screen isn't quite as pretty as the Nook Tablet, there are no hardware controls for volume, the power button is awkwardly placed, and the whole thing looks like a chunky version of 2010's Samsung Galaxy Tab. Under the hood, you have half the RAM of the Nook Tablet, half the storage, no integrated microphone, and no memory expansion.

That said, at $199, we're just happy to see that the Kindle Fire doesn't fall apart in your hand. The $50 savings over the Nook Tablet may be worth it for some.

Needs persistent Web access: The cloud is great--if you've always got access to it. When you're out of range, you can still enjoy your locally stored content, but many of the Kindle Fire's best features are unavailable without a connection to the Internet.

Prime membership: Great benefits such as the Kindle Owners' Lending Library and Instant Video are only available to Amazon Prime members. You get a month free, but after that it's $79 per year.

Parting thoughts

These are both promising tablets offered at great prices, but the current tablet market is much more competitive than it was at this time last year, when the groundbreaking Nook Color was released. We expect both products will continue to improve as new apps, services, and software updates are added. In the meantime, use the guidelines above to figure out which is best for you or your gift recipient of choice.

Android Security: Mobile malware and viruses - Threat Level None?

Earlier this week, Juniper Networks lit a fire with its report claiming that the amount of mobile malware has jumped 472% since July. According to Juniper's numbers, the number of malware samples collected in October jumped 110% compared to September, and 171% over what was collected in July.

"These days, it seems all you need is a developer account, that is relatively easy to anonymize, pay $25 and you can post your applications," the company wrote in a blog post. "With no upfront review process, no one checking to see that your application does what it says, just the world's largest majority of smartphone users skimming past your application's description page with whatever description of the application the developer chooses to include."

Earlier this year, Symantec, too, warned of mobile malware in the Android Market. In its own blog post, Symantec said, "Android malware is on the rise. Android.Pjapps is another example of a Trojan with back door capabilities that targets Android devices. As seen with previous Android threats, it is spreading through compromised versions of legitimate applications, available on unregulated third-party Android marketplaces."

Symantec, of course, sells security software for both PCs and mobile devices.

Let's not leave out Kapersky Labs (which also sells security software.)

"When it comes to attacking smartphones, there were clear signs that cybercriminals have made Android their platform of choice," the company said in a blog post on Thursday. "Increasingly sophisticated operations by malicious programs were also noted in Q3 along with some tried-and-tested methods: innocuous QR codes are now being used to conceal malware and computers are facing threats even before their operating systems start as cybercriminals revisit BIOS infection methods."

Are you scared yet, Android smartphone owners?

Are you quaking in your boots? Are you ready to buy antimalware and antivirus software from these companies? Should your corporate IT department be licensing protection schemes in bulk?
Hold on just a minute.

Google's open-source Guru, Chris DiBona, had some harsh words about these reports and the companies that generate them.

"Virus companies are playing on your fears to try to sell you bs protection software for Android, RIM and IOS," he wrote on Google+. "They are charlatans and scammers. If you work for a company selling virus protection for android, RIM or iOS you should be ashamed of yourself."

So, is there a risk then? Yes, says DiBona, but it's not what you think.

"A virus of the traditional kind is possible, but not probable. The barriers to spreading such a program from phone to phone are large and difficult enough to traverse when you have legitimate access to the phone, but this isn't Independence Day, a virus that might work on one device won't magically spread to the other."

DiBona is right. While some malware and viruses have tried to make use of Bluetooth and Wi-Fi radios to hop from device to device, it simply doesn't happen the way security systems want you to think it does.

But DiBona has one more thing to say. "Policy engines, and those tools that manage devices from a corporate IT department are not the same thing at all, but sometimes marketers in companies that sell such things sometimes tack on 'virus' protection. That part is a lie, tell your vendor to cut it out," he wrote.

Now that we have a few different views on this topic, who do you think is right? Well, there's some truth to what the security vendors are telling us. Smartphones--and apparently Android devices in particular--can be infected with malware through careless use.

But DiBona is right, too. How do we know that he is? Because there haven't been mass break-outs or major epidemics of malware spreading from phone to phone to phone. It simply hasn't happened yet. Could it? Yes. Will it? Probably not anytime soon.

Related articles: Android operating system : Android Malware Threats Grow Sixfold Since July

How to keep your home safe with security cameras

Who is at your house when your not there?

There have always been people, who take advantage of those of us who work hard for the things we have but it has never been easier to keep an eye on your home while you aren't there.

With today's Surveillance Cameras and DVRs you can view live video of inside or outside your home on your computer over the Internet.

Any where you have an Internet connection any where in the world. Watch your employees while you are away or watch your children at home while you are at work.

Horse people will find this very useful to keep an eye on your mare when she is ready to foal and to watch for problems. If you don't trust the baby sitter or things have come up missing and you would like to know who is to blame.

Use a hidden camera that looks like a clock or radio. New moms need to watch newborns while they are sleeping and still be able to move around the house as normal, use a camera inside a stuffed puppy by the infant and carry the small video monitor with you around the house.

Security Cameras and motion detectors

The new technology that is here makes it so easy to always know whats going on even if you aren't there. You can use a Motion Detector and auto dialer it is all one unit and looks like a cardless phone,
it can be mounted any where. When this detects motion it will call up to five different phone numbers that you choose and it works like a listening device to let you listen in.

You could get a call on your cell phone in another city and know to look at your cameras on your computer catch the robbers in the act, call the police and have them arrested before they left the house. Now thats Technology we can live with.

You can use hidden cameras with built in Motion Detector that won't start recording until it detects motion. Security is safety in todays world and the more security you have the safer you and your family will be and the better you will sleep at night. You owe it to yourself and your family to find out more.

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Nook Tablet or Kindle Fire - day one impressions: Can it fight the Fire?

Nook Tablet or Kindle Fire?

That's the question that's already bedeviling consumers and gadget aficionados alike.

In a matter of weeks, it seems, the tablet market has been compressed to just a handful of choices. The iPad 2 / ipad Accessories still rules the high end ($500 and above), but the "e-reader as tablet" option now looms large in the sub-$250 range, with the $199 Kindle Fire going mano-a-mano with the $249 Nook Tablet.

The Kindle Fire has just started shipping, and the Nook Tablet will follow as soon as tomorrow (a few days earlier than originally expected).

Last year, Barnes & Noble released the Nook Color at the same $249 price. Back then, a 7-inch color e-reader that could run apps as well as read color books and magazines, and even play movies and music, was a revelation. The Android tablet could even be rooted--to many, it became known as the not-so-secret most-affordable Android tablet around with the best design (other similarly-priced and more generic Android tablets are, by comparison, terrible).

With the Fire on the horizon, Barnes & Noble knew it had to up the ante. Thus, 2011's Nook Tablet takes the basic Nook Color formula and delivers more storage, a faster dual-core processor, an improved screen--and, notably, a larger selection of apps.

This year's design is very much like last year's. The Nook Tablet is to the Nook Color as the iPhone 4S is to the iPhone 4. The Tablet has had a few improvements in its feel and some contours on the tablet--it's not a carbon-copy of the Color, physically--but the carabiner is back, and so is the very appealing minimalist look. The edges and back have a slightly soft touch--not rubberized, but almost like Teflon coating on cookware. It feels nice.

The Nook Color remains as a $199 device, but the Tablet is the color tablet most Nook customers are going to want to buy.

The question, then, is can the Nook Tablet compete with the Kindle Fire--or, with the iPad? Barnes & Noble's latest still feels like a tweener device. The interface and user controls are a bit of an awkward marriage. Pressing the Nook's version of the home button brings up a media bar, but various libraries are viewed in different blades. Pressing the home button doesn't always bring you back to the home screen--it brings up that media-bar on the bottom instead. Tapping the "home" icon takes you home, and...well, you see the confusion. Those familiar with the Nook will feel right at home.

As an e-reader

Let's put it this way: when shooting the video for the Nook Tablet, I almost forgot to show off the e-reader features. The Nook Tablet users could, as absurd as it sounds, make book reading a distant priority, what with all the video, music, gaming and magazine reading this tablet can handle.

The Nook e-reading software is functional, but not spectacular. Fonts and font sizes--as well as margins and line spacing--can be easily adjusted, offering plenty of flexibility. Still, page turns aren't silky-smooth like they are in Apple's iBooks app, although they are functionally fast. Book-lovers might still prefer an e-ink choice like the Simple Touch over this bright LCD display, but for the extra features the Nook Tablet offers, it's a worthy compromise. The IPS display is bright and crisp--better than the original Nook Color--and looks as least as good as an iPad's display.

Children's books have been a big part of the Nook's sales pitch, and they largely don't disappoint. The handful of books I looked at were colorful and bright, but full pages can get a little small on the screen real estate. Barnes & Noble has proudly shown off the ability to record and save your own voice recordings on these books, and the feature works as advertised. A kid could have page-by-page custom recordings from a grandparent or other relative who isn't there. It's similar to what's available on some iPad apps.

Nearly two hundred magazines are offered for issue-by-issue or subscription purchase, with the option for print subscribers to get a free e-version. The layout on these digital versions has been changed to fit the reduced screen space. All the content is the same, but the shrunk-to-fit design might annoy magazine purists.
Comics are also supported via a new store and reader, and a few issues of Marvel comics looked great on the Nook Tablet screen. This is an even better use of a 7-inch screen, and could be the killer app for color e-readers.

As a video player

Adding Netlfix and Hulu Plus--among others--to the Nook's color tablet ecosystem is huge. It's hard not to be impressed by the Nook Tablet's sharp screen and picture quality. Streaming Netflix and Hulu Plus in the office worked far better than we expected, although there were occasional playback hiccups over our Wi-Fi. We streamed Netflix side-by-side with the Kindle Fire, and head-to-head comparisons were very favorable to the Nook--it simply looked better. Both tablets have the same app, but the Nook Tablet's picture looked more vivid and detailed. The Nook Tablet also has physical volume controls on the side, which come in handy--the Kindle Fire strangely lacks them.

However, it's not enough. The Nook Tablet has no video store like Amazon and Apple do, and it's a big loss for anyone who wants to use this tablet to watch videos away from Wi-Fi--like, for instance, on a plane.
That's not to say you can't technically store videos. Almost paradoxically, the Nook Tablet has more extra storage space than the Kindle Fire--16GB compared to 8GB--and a micro SD card slot on top of that with a capacity up to 32GB. Loading videos or music onto the Nook Tablet would have to be accomplished by sideloading--connecting a USB cable to a PC. The Nook Tablet supports the same video codecs as any Android Gingerbread tablet, so it's versatile, but it obviously can't play back videos with DRM protection. That means that those sideloaded video libraries most likely won't be of the entirely legal variety.

I only bring that up because your mother, father, sister, brother or grandfather will inevitably ask, "how do I watch my favorite movie on this thing?" The simple answer for a Nook owner is: well, it's complicated. As much as Barnes & Noble doesn't want to ackowledge it, the Nook Tablet is a bit of an odd duck for the average person wanting a video-playing tablet.

As a music player

Music lovers will have no lack of music services on the Nook Tablet. Pandora, TuneIn Radio, MOG and Rhapsody have apps, among others. And, of course, you could easily sideload your own music via USB. Music is sold naturally DRM-free, and sideloading it isn't nearly as much of a problem as with video. Yes, the Nook Tablet handles music just fine, but it's not ergonomically comfortable--and it doesn't have Bluetooth.

As a gaming device

The Nook Tablet has a decent selection of casual games on the Nook Store, ranging from Angry Birds to Scrabble. They load and play like the average Android app--the screen shows off sharp colors and animations, but the graphics capability doesn't come anywhere near that of an iPad. Apps load reasonably quickly. Right now the pickings are slim indeed, but for a very casual audience these games are fine enough. The library would need to grow a lot to consider this a "gaming" device: Apple's App Store has this beat by at least twenty thousand.

As a web browser

Surfing the web on the Nook Tablet is a step up from the Color, but the whole experience still pales compared to browsing on an iPad. Part of the problem is the 7-inch screen: web pages sometimes load as mobile sites, and Flash support wasn't always reliable, as is often the case on mobile devices.

What the Nook Tablet lacks

No cameras, no maps, no Bluetooth, and a general lack of core Android operating system features normally found baked into Android tablets. The Nook is built on Android, but it's really just an e-reader with apps. It's impressively versatile, but you'll have to rely on app downloads from the Nook Store to fill out additional productivity functions.

What's better than the Kindle Fire:

The screen, which is a higher-quality IPS display than the Kindle Fire, really shows off Netflix and Hulu Plus to amazing effect, although we did see the occasional streaming hiccup. It's the best screen on a budget tablet that I've ever seen.

More storage--both onboard (16GB) and via micro SD expansion--and the ability to read EPUB files could be big news for those who want flexibility. There's plenty of expansion room, and you'll have a hard time running out of space for your apps--or your magazine downloads.

What's worse than the Kindle Fire:

A lack of cloud-based media support that Amazon front-loads on the Kindle Fire: no official music or video store, and no way of locally storing downloaded videos outside of connecting the Nook Tablet to your computer. Amazon Prime customers get a bonus pack of borrowable books and free-to-watch TV shows and movies on the Fire. Barnes & Noble has no such subscription service.

The browser. Pages were slow to load for us, and often loaded mobile versions of sites instead of the full pages. Flash support, as always on mobile devices, was hit-and-miss.

Also: yes, it's subjective, but the admittedly clean-looking Nook Tablet interface is more Android-esque than the eye-popping shelf animations on the Fire. The Nook Tablet might be a super-powered e-reader and media device, but it's still a budget tablet. Browsing app menus and stores often feels choppy and sluggish. Some might prefer the lack of a cover flow-like media flipboard such as the one the Kindle Fire utilizes, but if I'm using this as an e-reader, I'd rather it felt like one as opposed to a mini-computer.

Our initial impression

The landscape of tablets has suddenly changed, and in a considerable, fundamental way. The iPad defined a tablet as a computer alternative; however, thanks to the Kindle Fire and the Nook Tablet, tablets might be equally seen as affordable, incredibly versatile e-readers to others. The Nook Tablet has an aggressive price and an impressive set of features, and hardware that bests the Fire in several respects. However, it lacks the native music/video stores that Amazon bakes into the Fire, relying on third-party streaming apps instead.

Which solution is best for you depends on whether you value a video store over greater storage, or simply, which service you already own more books on, since the Nook won't read Kindle books and vice versa.
Make no mistake, however--the competition in this entry-level tablet space is aggressive, and it's quite likely that there may not be a clear-cut winner. This may well be more of a "Pepsi versus Coke" situation, where personal preferences and brand affiliation trump hardware and software considerations.

Microsoft's week marked the start of the company's huge Windows Phone push

Microsoft's week marked the start of the company's huge Windows Phone push, a new online ad deal, and a twist in a long-running battle with Barnes & Noble over Android.

Microsoft started its huge Windows Phone push this past week.

On Nov. 7, the company unveiled a six-story mockup of a Windows Phone in the middle of New York City’s Herald Square, which attracted its own share of media attention. New Windows Phone devices, loaded with the wide-ranging Mango update, will appear in stores over the next few weeks. Microsoft executives are talking up the platform as ideal for both businesses and consumers.

For Windows Phone, it’s very much do-or-die time. In the year since the platform’s initial release, it has failed to carve off substantial market share. It continues to face robust competition from mature platforms like Google Android and Apple’s iPhone / ipad Accessories . And most of its manufacturing partners, with the exception of Nokia, have a vested interest in promoting other smartphones in addition to Microsoft’s products.

In a bid to counter those headwinds, Microsoft is pumping enormous amounts of cash into its development and marketing process. It is also betting heavily on Nokia, which abandoned its homegrown operating systems such as Symbian in favor of Windows Phone. Despite its falling market share in the wake of that decision, Nokia continues to enjoy significant presence on the global stage, which Microsoft hopes it can leverage into far greater Windows Phone adoption.

Part of Microsoft’s overall strategy also involves expanding Windows Phone beyond its current high-end niche and into the midmarket. “We are dramatically broadening the set of price points in Mango-related phones that we can reach,” Andy Lees, president of Microsoft’s Windows Phone division, told the audience during the Asia D conference Oct. 19. “That’s particularly important because going lower down in price point opens up a more addressable market.”

Microsoft has loosened its minimum hardware requirements for the platform, with its hardware specifications now listing “primary camera” and “front-facing camera” under “optional hardware.” The rest of the “standard hardware” remains much the same, including three hardware buttons (start, search and back) and an accelerometer. Those specifications were last updated Sept. 23.

Nokia plans on offering a midmarket Windows Phone, the Lumia 710, to complement its higher-end efforts.
Microsoft’s Windows Phone strategy extends to pumping up its executive bench. On Nov. 7, the blog Boy Genius Report posted news that Gavin Kim, formerly Samsung’s vice president of consumer and enterprise services, had become Microsoft’s general manager of the Windows Phone team.

“I will be responsible to help set the future direction for the Windows Phone platform and to accelerate Microsoft’s trajectory to win the hearts and minds of consumers, carriers, device manufacturers, developers and partners,” Kim told BGR. “In my experience, there is an already fervent base of Windows Phone supporters out there and they all get it.”

Microsoft’s recent partnerships haven’t been limited to Windows Phone. On Nov. 8, Reuters reported that the company had entered into an advertising alliance with AOL and Yahoo.

However, Microsoft declined to frame its deal as a response to online competitors such as Google. “Other players in the industry are welcome to join us,” Rik van der Kooi, corporate vice president of Microsoft Advertising Business Group, told the news service. “This is not in response to anybody in particular.”

Under the terms of the agreement, each of the three companies can sell premium display ads belonging to the other two. That will allow the trifecta to more efficiently unload premium advertising inventory, although their competition over advertiser spending and other segments will continue apace. Although Microsoft’s product portfolio gives it diverse streams of revenue (in contrast to Google, for example, which depends on advertising for an overwhelming percentage of its bottom line), its recent emphasis on Web and cloud services makes advertising a more prominent concern.

However, Microsoft’s week wasn’t all product pushes and partnerships: The company also faces a potentially complicated issue related to its Android-licensing push.

For the past several quarters, Microsoft, insisting that Android violates certain key patents, has offered Android device manufacturers a choice: Pay us royalties for each unit you make, or risk a lawsuit. So far, it has locked 10 manufacturers into agreements, but Barnes & Noble, which produces the Android-based Nook e-reader, has opted to battle the matter out in court.

According to Bloomberg, an Oct. 17 letter from Barnes & Noble to the Justice Department describes Microsoft as “embarking on a campaign of asserting trivial and outmoded patents against manufacturers of Android devices” in order to “drive out competition and to deter innovation in mobile devices.”

Whatever the outcome of this attempt to launch an antitrust probe, the two companies’ patent-infringement battle will begin February 2012. 

New Report - More shoppers drawn to cheaper, smaller Kindle Fire over iPad

More than three times as many shoppers for tablet computers are considering the $199 Amazon Kindle Fire over the bestselling iPad, according to a new survey.

An online Retrevo survey of more than 1,000 Americans in October found that 44% would consider the 7-in. Kindle Fire over 12% favoring the 9.7-in. iPad, starting at $499. Another 44% said they "didn't know enough about the Amazon tablet."

The Kindle Fire starts shipping to buyers Tuesday, while the Barnes & Noble $249 Nook Tablet will be available later next week. The survey by Retrevo, an electronics shopping and review website, was conducted before the Nook Tablet was announced.

The iPad first launched in April 2010 and the iPad 2 launched I March of 2011, with total sales now put at more than 35 million.

The iPad and iPad 2 have held a huge lead over all other tablets, hitting the market far earlier and retaining more than 60% of the market globally, according to IDC and other analysts.

Still, Retrevo noted that the lower price and smaller size of the Kindle Fire attracted buyer interest over the iPad. "With this [44%] 'acceptance' of a smaller tablet and the large price difference, conditions seem right for the Amazon Fire to become a hot item this year," Retrevo said.

Retrevo added that the $249 Nook Tablet "could also be an attractive alternative to an iPad."

Retrevo's survey also indicated that even current iPad owners might want a smaller, lighter tablet such as the Kindle Fire, Nook Tablet, or a future, smaller iPad.

Retrevo attempted to further explain the strong interest in Kindle Fire by noting "the iPad 2 is starting to show its age," adding: "Amazon may also benefit from the timing of their tablet. With the iPad 2 / ipad Accessories / iPad Cases nearly a year old and the iPad 3 rumored to not be available until next year (missing the holiday season), Amazon may have timed the launch of their tablet just right."

Amazon expects the Kindle Fire to be popular, reportedly increasing manufacturing orders to 5 million units by the end of 2011, according to DigiTimes.

Forrester Research analyst Sarah Rotman Epps estimated that Amazon will sell 3 million to 5 million Kindle Fire tablets in the fourth quarter, while Barnes & Noble will sell 1.5 million to 2 million Nook Tablets over the same period.

But Apple, which sold a record 11.1 million iPads in the third quarter, could sell 20 million worldwide in the fourth quarter, Epps said.

Apple vs google: Why iPhone 4S’s Siri is a Threat to Google

What do you do when you want information? For many years it has been to Google for it. Ask the search engine whatever you want and it will use its complex algorithm to give you the best information on the internet. Although Google is still the undisputed leader in search (65% of people use Google for internet search in the United States, 97% of all smartphone users use Google as their search engine, and 94% of Europe uses Google), Google Chairman Eric Schmidt noted that "Apple’s Siri is a significant development—a voice-activated means of accessing answers through iPhones that demonstrates the innovations in search."

The above quote is just one of many sent to different Senate subcommittees, trying to convince them that Google isn’t the monopoly that it appears to be. As such, just because Schmidt is acknowledging that Siri may pose a threat to Google’s search business, it’s unlikely that he’s losing any sleep over it. The more he beefs up his competitors, the less chance Google has of being regulated by the government.

Right now, Siri users represent a tiny fraction of people who are using Apple’s voice assistant technology over Google and the voice technology will not pose a threat to Google unless Siri sees a much wider user base. Furthermore, although Siri uses Yelp! And Wolfram Alpha for many of its answers, if you want to ask Siri a general question, it will use Google.

Apple’s Siri may be a long term threat to Google if it ditches Google search and makes its own search engine. The fact that almost 60% of all mobile web traffic comes from an Apple operating system (iOS) means that an Apple search engine can make a dent in Google’s search engine dominance, provided that it actually makes one. Many are speculating that iOS 6 will be the first time that Apple ditches Google Maps in favor of maps acquired from C3 Technologies. This means that Apple doesn’t want to reply on third parties for its operating system. An Apple search engine, coupled with Siri technology, may already be in the works and may pose a threat in the future (5-10 years from now?), reflecting Schmidt’s concerns that Apple’s Siri / Laptop Battery is a competitor to Google.

Even though many are dismissing Schmidt’s Siri claims, saying that he is just trying to protect Google from government intervention, he is also making a valid point: Apple’s Siri represents a long term threat to the search engine giant and Google will need to continue to innovate amidst competition from the likes of Apple and helpful websites such as Orbitz and Kayak, which show up in its own search engine.

The HP TouchPad was one of the shortest-lived mobile products

The HP TouchPad was one of the shortest-lived mobile products ever produced. HP doomed the TouchPad to failure, either intentionally or through sheer incompetence.

The HP TouchPad was a major product rollout subsequently cancelled by HP in just a few weeks. The cancellation caught industry watchers by surprise, and touched off a bizarre series of actions including dumping the entire company’s inventory for clearance bin prices. Hindsight is said to have 20/20 vision, and as a result it is now apparent that HP / hp Pavilion dv7 Battery , deliberately or through sheer incompetence, doomed the TouchPad to failure.

The company threw a big press event in February this year, and it was a rare event in that the excitement generated rivaled that of most Apple launch events. Thousands of press members, myself included, made the trek to San Francisco and were caught up in the hullabaloo that HP created. The excitement for the first tablet running HP/Palm’s webOS was so thick in the atmosphere it could be cut with an iPad. The event was successful in creating crazy excitement for a new product such as rarely happens. The only ommisions dampening attendees’ enthusiasm were the lack of a ship date and pricing.

Those two omissions played a pivotal role in the failure of the TouchPad. Had HP actually launched the TouchPad at that event by making them available for purchase when the press coverage was so high, the initial sales figures likely would have satisfied even HP. That would have happened if the retail pricing was close to, or even slightly lower than that of the iPad. The press coverage put the product all over the news, and the excitement behind that coverage was tangible. All that was needed to make for a successful launch was to make the TouchPad available for purchase right after the event, with firm shipping dates.

Instead HP kept working on the product behind the scenes, out of sight of the press corps that had fallen in love with the tablet. Nothing visibly was happening, and the news coverage quickly died off. This took the TouchPad off of prospective buyer’s radars, which was a total waste of a fantastic launch event. The longer the product stayed off the market, the more interested parties forgot about it.

When HP finally rolled the product out for sale, fully six months after the bash by the bay, it was the softest, quietest launch possible. HP doesn’t have its own retail stores like Apple, so it depended on major retailers to create a splash for the actual TouchPad launch. This didn’t happen, anywhere.

I walked into a major Best Buy store in Houston, a major market and home of a big HP installation, and expected to see at least a few people looking at the TouchPad. This was wishful thinking on my part as neither HP nor retailers had promoted the launch much. Not only did I not see any buyers looking at the TouchPad, I didn’t see any TouchPads either. When I asked to see one the Best Buy representative told me they hadn’t put them out yet, even though that day was the big launch day. They planned to put out the display later, when they had some time free.

The scene in Best Buy just two months later when HP dropped the price to $99 was a stark difference. That price drop followed the company’s bizarre announcement that the entire webOS hardware line was cancelled. HP intended to empty out the supply chain and move on, without the TouchPad or any webOS phones in the market.

That created a frenzy for Best Buy, with over 70 people waiting outside at the same store that was empty on launch day, for the store to open to snag a cheap TouchPad before they all ran out. This scene was repeated all over the country, and an estimated one million tablets were sold in less than a week.

HP stuck to its guns about canceling the TouchPad, and rumors are swirling that nobody wants to buy the webOS business from them. I would not be surprised if HP simply shuts it down soon, and allows the platform to die a quiet death.

In hindsight it almost seems that HP decided right after the big February press event that it didn’t want to play in the cut-throat mobile space. I picture an executive meeting where everyone asked what they should do with this unseemingly webOS stuff? I imagine a vote was taken where the result was HP would just throw the TouchPad up against the wall and see if it stuck. With no backing, it didn’t, and HP closed the doors on one of the most innovative mobile products to come along in years. Since the iPad, anyway.