As expected, Amazon.com Wednesday released a new version of its Kindle with a bigger screen, which is intended to present newspaper and magazine content better than the current, smaller Kindle 2.

The New York Times Company and Washington Post Company are launching pilots with Kindle DX this summer, according to an Amazon.com press statement. The New York Times, The Boston Globe and The Washington Post will offer the Kindle DX at a reduced price to readers who live in areas where home-delivery is not available and who sign up for a long-term subscription to the Kindle edition of the newspapers, the company said.

Amazon.com has posted a product page on its Web site.

The new Kindle DX has a 9.7-inch screen and is a larger format than the current Kindle 2, which has a 6-inch screen, the same as the original Kindle device launched in November 2007. Amazon.com launched Kindle 2 in February.

The Kindle DX costs US$489 versus $359 for the other Kindle devices, according to the site.

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Audio vendor Altec Lansing on Thursday announced the company’s new “value” line of computer speakers, ranging in price from $20 to $50. The least-expensive model, the $20 BXR1220, is a pair of small, satellite-style speakers that connects to your computer via USB for both audio and power. The speakers are magnetically shielded, finished with titanium-metallic accents, and feature a volume ring for easy volume adjustments. The $30 BXR1221 mates the BXR1220′s satellites with a small (4-inch-driver) subwoofer, but requires wall-outlet power.

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When it comes to hardware, Amazon and Sony are battling it out for leadership in the e-book reader market. For now these two models hold the most appeal–for very different reasons. We note the similarities and differences between the Amazon Kindle 2 and the Sony Digital Reader PRS-700, and point out how each does a better job at presenting books digitally. (For more on how the Kindle 2 operates, and how it compares to the first-generation Kindle, see our Kindle visual tour.)

The Amazon Kindle 2 (right) is taller than the Sony Reader. Both have a 6-inch, 800-by-600-pixel E-Ink display, but text on the Kindle 2 appears sharper than on the PRS-700. The Kindle 2 provides a usable QWERTY keyboard, whereas the Sony feels downright incomplete without a physical keyboard of some sort (its on-screen keyboard gets tiresome very quickly). But the Sony has its own advantages: I found that its black metallic chassis, with a gray matte bezel, is easier on the eyes over the long term than the Kindle’s stark off-white case.

The Sony’s Main Menu Is Designed for Touch

The 10-ounce Sony PRS-700 may lack a keyboard, but it boasts a touchscreen–which explains the setup of the main Home navigation menu. Big, roomy buttons dominate the screen, one each for Continue Reading, Books, Collections, and All Notes; three more buttons, Audio, Pictures, and Settings, line the bottom of the screen. I appreciated the PRS-700′s display, but I disliked having to press hard to make the touchscreen work. I could use my finger to select words and annotations (not easy with the on-screen touch keyboard). The screen supports gesture motions, too: Conveniently, I could swipe my finger left or right to change pages (even at an angle–neat), and swipe and hold my finger to jump through multiple pages at a time. But even with page swipes, I thought the pressure required to accomplish tasks was unnecessarily hard, and nothing like what I’m used to on, say, a Palm Treo 680 or an Apple iPhone.

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Use this powerful digital SLR camera to capture stunning images even at long range thanks to an 18-55mm zoom lens and 0.93″ x 0.62″ CMOS sensor.

Product Features

• 12.3-megapixel 0.93″ x 0.62″ DX-format CMOS sensor
  Captures high-resolution images up to 4288 x 2848 pixels. Built-in image sensor cleaning keeps your pictures looking sharp.
• 18-55mm f/3.5 – f/5.6 DX Nikkor lens
  With 3x zoom. AF-S mounting supports compatible lenses.
• 2.7″ Vari-Angle TFT-LCD monitor
  With one-button Live View and 230,000 pixels. SLR-type fixed eye-level pentaprism viewfinder with 96% frame coverage ensures accurately framed and captured images.
• Face detection technology
  Isolates subjects in-frame and optimizes conditions to take the best pictures of friends and family.
• Image optimization modes
  Allow you to adjust contrast, sharpening, brightness, saturation and hue.
• 19 auto exposure scene modes
  Include portrait, landscape, child, sports, close-up, night landscape, party/indoor, beach/snow, sunset, dusk/dawn, pet portrait, candlelight, blossom, food, night portrait and more for customizable shots.
• 11-area autofocus
  With programmed exposure metering system for shutter-priority, aperture priority and manual so you can capture the detailed photos you want.
• Fast continuous shooting mode at approx. 4 fps
  To capture all the action. Electronic self-timer with 2- to 20-sec. duration lets you get in the shot.
• Flash modes
  Include front curtain sync, slow sync, rear-curtain sync, red-eye reduction and red-eye reduction with slow sync for ideal lighting in a variety of situations. Hot show for attaching an external flash.
• 720p D-Movie mode
  Lets you create high-definition video clips with sound to share with friends and family.
• Secure Digital/Secure Digital High Capacity memory card slot
  Lets you store your photos (media not included).
• >> Store more photos! Find compatible memory cards in our Memory Center!
• Supports JPEG and RAW file formats
  To best suit your photography needs.
• USB 2.0 interface and HDMI outputs
  For fast digital image and video transfer and display.
• Direct-print capability with any PictBridge-enabled printer (not included)
  So you can connect your camera to a compatible printer and print photos without using your PC.
• Nikon software suite
  Included to help organize and add special effects to images.

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Dell tries to out-Apple Apple’s MacBook Air. Find out how it fared.

Dell’s luxury notebook, the Adamo, is spunky–I’ll give it that. The up-and-comer packs on ports…and takes some not-so-subtle jabs at Apple’s MacBook Air. Neither company really positions its ultraslim ultraportable as a high-performance hot rod. Heck, both of them eschew optical drives to stay lean and mean. But they’re both expensive–very, very expensive.

The MacBook Air is the cagey vet. Since it first showed up on the scene, it has improved its game by providing better processors and an honest-to-goodness graphics card, nVidia’s GeForce 9400M. That means it can actually play some games–not many, but some.

The Air we last reviewed offered a 1.86GHz Core 2 Duo CPU and 2GB of RAM, and scored a 78 in WorldBench 6. In our battery-life tests, the Air survived for about 2.5 hours before sputtering out. It can accommodate a 120GB hard disk (our more-expensive model came with a 128GB solid-state drive). But then, of course, there’s the dreaded “Apple Tax” (but, really, that tax is up for debate): These machines range in price from $1799 to $2499.

The Dell Adamo, on the other hand, offers lesser parts and…charges…more? Really? Maybe we should rename it the “Adamo Tax.” Let’s go over this. Dell’s high-style PCs cost between $1999 and $2699. The Adamo maxes out at a 1.4GHz CPU but compensates with 4GB of RAM to handle a 64-bit version of Windows Vista Home Premium. Supposedly its battery will last 5 hours in tests, if we’re to believe promotional materials. In our internal battery life tests, it lasted 4 hours. Still, that’s way better than how the MacBook Air fared. But, not much of a surprise, the Adamo got slapped around by our PC WorldBench 6 suite: It scored a 64. As far as ultraportable performance goes, it’s sad. Very sad. That’s probably the biggest mark against the Adamo, up front. But other features in a laptop are worth consideration besides horsepower.

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Google Android cupcake branch now works in Dell Axim X51v. One of the enthusiast has posted a video of Dell Axim running Android. Take a look for yourself.

AxDroid – Android on Dell Axim x51v from Ertan D. on Vimeo.

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