The Kindle 2 started shipping in earnest yesterday, and many who’ve been keeping abreast of the e-book reader may be wondering what exactly makes it differ from its predecessor besides it’s looks.  Instead of giving it a formal gadget review, we decided to do a side-by-side feature comparison between the Kindle and the Kindle 2 to help you understand better how the device has improved over the past year.
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This week, Philips introduced the two newest additions to their popular GoGear line.  The compact GoGear Ariaz (pictured) sports a 2-inch full-color screen and employs a hybrid control scheme consisting of touchscreen buttons and a large rocker key.  The Ariaz also has radio and voice recording features, and will launch in 4, 8, and 16GB sizes.  Philips’ other new player, the GoGear Opus, comes equipped with a 2.8-inch QVGA display–the largest in the GoGear series.  The Opus has larger storage options as well, and will ship in 8, 16, and 32GB sizes.  Like the Ariaz, the Opus will come with FM radio and voice recording functionality, but the Bluetooth stereo audio output will make it a bit more flexible than its smaller-screened counterpart.  In a nod to more discerning listeners, Philips will bundle a pair of high-definition sound-isolating earphones with both players; allowing owners to capitalize on the proprietary MP3-enhancing FullSound technology found at the heart of the Opus and Ariaz.  While American availability has yet to be announced, our European readers will be able to pick up one of Philips’ new GoGears this April.  Pricing will range from 79 to 129 euros for the Ariaz, and 99 to 179 euros for the Opus.

There’s not much information to be had yet on Sony Ericsson’s intended iPhone-killer (I think that word has outlived its usefulness?), but execs gave a sneak peek at the code-named “Idou” camera phone at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

With a 12.1-megapixel camera with Flash, it seems more like a camera with a phone than a phone with a camera.  Demonstrators from Sony Ericsson didn’t talk much specs, but there’s a “full-touch” screen running the latest version of the open-source Symbian OS.

Even though there’s not much to know about the Idou yet, it’s slated to launch in the second half of this year–so you won’t need to wait long for the full scoop.  Stay tuned.

If you got a copy of the Windows 7 beta, you may be wondering what changes there are in the experience for the average user.  After all, at first glance it largely looks like just a new skin on a slightly leaner version of Vista.

But if you look closer, there’s all kinds of minor tweaks and new features that make Windows 7 more than the sum of its parts–not to say it’s a perfect operating system, just that you’ve got to do a little poking around to appreciate the extent of what’s different about it.
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Amazon.com just took yet another step into the realm of digital distribution of media with the launch of the beta version of the Amazon Game Downloads store. Here PC gamers can choose from an initial offering of over 600 casual game titles, all for under $10, with many as low as $6.99. If you are down for a little inexpensive casual gaming you should probably get yourself over to the download store fast, since for a limited time Amazon is offering three free, full-version games – Jewel Quest 2, The Scruffs and Build A Lot, just for trying the service.

The genesis of the new service came with Amazon’s acquisition last October of casual gaming portal Reflexive Entertainment. Of course casual gaming is a huge market and one that is a natural fit with the broad Amazon.com demographic. If Amazon can make a splash with its new service it is not beyond the realm of possibilities that it may eventually make a sortie or two into the core PC games market along the lines of what Steam has managed to do, possibly with an exclusive title. That would be sweet. But for now expect a whole lot of walking before anything that could mistaken for running here. Regardless, if you are a PC gamer get yourself over to to the download store this week and pick up your free games. The service requires the download of a small client file, but nothing major. Users will also enjoy multiple downloads of games once purchased, even to different computers. See the service’s getting started page for details.

For those of us serious about ensuring that we are never unplugged, there is always a service, option, device, whatever that can make that a reality. But 2009 is shaping up to be the beginning of a period when the rest of us catch up whether we want to or not, as wireless hot spots finally push their way into transit options in a big time way. And with a major chunk of the public spending a fair amount of time commuting by planes, trains and automobiles it’s about time.

Of course late last year a variety of airlines including Delta, Virgin America, American Airlines and Air Canada announced that they had launched or planned to launch Wi-Fi on a limited number of flights domestically. But most of us working stiffs are not jet setters, so that leaves trains and automobiles, right? Actually, we can expect to see some changes here as well. With regards to trains, California-based broadband provider Wi-Fi Rail Network has recently announced the approval of a contract with the San Francisco Bay Area’s Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system that will bring high speed Internet to commuters system-wide by the end of 2010. The BART system consists of over a 100 miles of track connected by over 40 stations, linking San Francisco to cities and residential areas north, south and east as well as both the San Francisco and Oakland airports. In tests trains moving up to 85MPH reported consistent connection speeds up to 15mbps based on a signal provided by a network of fiber optic cable laid along the train lines and transmitted to trains every mile. Service is planned on a subscription model estimated to follow a pricing pattern of: Day Passes - $10, Monthly Passes - $30, Annual Passes - $300, with corporate plans eventually available. If this service ends up being profitable, or even break even, which will be the ultimate yardsticks, look for similar plans for comparable rapid transit systems all over the country.

Carpoolers can also expect to see wireless options move beyond GPS services and OnStar soon as well, as dealerships across the country, led by Chrysler’s UConnect Web system, launch hot spot functionality available with new Chysler, Jeep and Dodge models. The MSRP for the UConnect hardware is $450, not including an installation fee and a monthly access fee of about $30. The lament here, which has been repeated many times and in many places will of course be “one more distraction for drivers,” which is true enough, but for those with free and responsible hands who spend hours a day watching traffic from the passenger seat, it could be a godsend. The additional caveat is that the big hit that the auto industry has taken in the current economic downtown could knock this Wi-Fi trend off track. The year is young yet, so only time will tell.

In the meantime check out video below of UConnect Web in action.

I’m guessing that knowing the wants and needs of your customer base is the secret to success in the peripheral and computer accessories market and as such the Klingon Language Wired Keyboard by Cherry Keyboards has got to be the ultimate in niche marketing.

The Klingon language, “tlhIngan Hol,” is the most popular created language in the world, and was of course created for the Star Trek movies and later TV incarnations of the franchise. Based on Cherry’s G83-6000 series, the Klingon keyboard has 105 keys–conveniently there are 26 characters in the Klingon writing system–a PS2 connection and comes in black. How many people are actually fluent in Klingon, or at least are interested enough to want to attempt to tap out messages in it? Who knows, but according to the Cherry Keyboards website, there will only be a limited number of keyboards made, which was probably a good idea seeing as they run about $63 a piece. Although I’m sure that there are all sorts of copyright issues related to the Star Trek IP, at this price it would have been nice if Cherry could have managed to get some sort of Klingon insignia on the keyboard itself (I put the insignia of the Klingon Empire on the image above). As much as I could use a learning tool to get me up to speed enough to tackle the Epic of Gilgamesh or Hamlet in Klingon, unfortunately I may have to wait for a fire sale before picking up one of these.

Any Trekkers out there who are ready to lay down the cash regardless of the cost? Let me know.

In my wanderings on the floor, two new mice caught my eye. While the mouse isn’t the most exciting of gadgets, most computer users use one every day and a really good one that fits your palm and your needs starts to feel like a Borg-ian extension of yourself. The first (actually released last fall) is the new wireless mouse designed specifically for Mac use by Targus, which comes in both a Bluetooth version and a more standard 2.4 GHz RF version (connecting via a USB receiver dongle). As you would expect from a Mac-minded peripheral, it has a very modern stripped-down, Jonny Ive design vibe to it. But what makes it a bit unique is that it replaces the scroll wheel with a touch scrolling sensor that provides easy four-way scrolling (i.e., vertical and horizontal). After playing with it for a few minutes, I found that it was very responsive to both direction as well as the speed of scrolling that I wanted. It’s got a very sleek shape that fits the palm just right and is light as a feather, but it does have a very low, ergonomic profile, which might not suit everyone. (I’m used to a mouse with a bit more height as well as heft, so it could take some getting used to–but I’m considering it as well as this Chill Mat with whisper-quiet USB-powered fans.)

I was also impressed by the latest Kensington trackball mouse called the SlimBlade, which won’t be out until March (and will be available for both Mac and Windows users). My wife is an architect and has gone through many trackball-style mice over the years, and when I told her that the SlimBlade had a pass-through design (where lint and dirt funnels directly to the table surface, instead of gunking up in the trackball hole), she was sold. Befitting its name, the SlimBlade has a sleek, low-profile design, and the mouse can adapt to a variety of control functions based on the application you’re using. For instance, I saw it demoed with iTunes and you can simply twist the trackball like a knob to navigate through Cover Flow as well as control playback and volume settings with the mouse’s buttons.