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Hands-on with new Nook: Better than the Kindle?

Note: CNET's full review of the new Nook is up now.

The day after Kobo served up a new $129.99 touch-screen e-reader, Barnes & Noble, as expected, unveiled its own touch-screen e-ink Nook, which it's branding as "The Simple eReader."

We had a very good idea what the new device would be prior to the launch, but before we get to the initial impressions, here's a quick rundown of the new Nook's key specs:

Touch screen with Neonode "responsive" zForce infrared touch technology 6-inch Pearl e-ink screen (same screen as Kindle'… Read more

Top photography apps for iPhone

For the past couple of years, I have been writing the iPhone apps of the week in this space. But we've decided that instead of the same old app rundown, we're going to do something a little different. Starting this week, we're going to be putting together three apps that fulfill a specific theme. We're going to try to introduce one or two new apps and put them alongside older classics in the category. This way, you will be able to compare new apps with older ones, and also, find out about apps in the category that you may not have seen before.

This week's apps revolve around your iPhone's camera capabilities. The first one is a popular app for snapping old-school photos, the second lets you take photos that make objects appear miniature, and the third is a newer app for chronicling gradual changes in your appearance.

Hipstamatic ($1.99) is an extremely popular app that turns your iPhone's digital camera into an old-school single-shot camera of the past to give your images that grainy, washed-out (in a good way) retro look. The interface is a bit confusing at first, but you'll soon figure out how to switch among different types of retro film, different types of lenses, and even effects for different types of flashes. You can switch between each of the different variables with a swipe of your finger, with dramatically different results depending on the combination you choose before taking your snapshot.… Read more

Get that miniature look in your images

TiltShift Generator combines blur and other depth-of-field effects to make objects in your photos seem miniature. To get the miniature effect, you'll ideally take photos from some distance, but even close-up shots can be put through TiltShift Generator with good-looking results.

TiltShift Generator does a great job of taking you through the process of creating tilt-shift images. The app automatically adds the tilt-shift effect, but you can also go through the process yourself. You start by either taking a photo with your iPhone camera or choosing an existing image from your library. From there you can adjust the blurred … Read more

Thermoelectric generator powered by sun's heat

There are solar panels that generate electricity and those that absorb heat for hot water. And now researchers at MIT and elsewhere say they've made progress on using the sun's heat to make electricity.

In a paper published in Nature, the researchers describe the progress they've made on a nanostructured material that improves on the heat-to-electricity conversion rate over existing thermoelectric devices.

The researchers envision that this solid-state material could be packaged either as a stand-alone thermoelectric generator or added onto existing solar hot water systems to make electricity. "Our work opens up a promising new … Read more

E Ink: No successor to Pearl this year

Sri Peruvemba, vice president of global sales and marketing at E Ink, recently stopped by our New York offices and talked displays and reminded us just how thin the e-ink screen for the Kindle and other e-readers is.

While he was showing off a "Triton" color e-ink prototype that's been making the rounds and piqued the interest of textbook publishers, we were more interested in what's up next for monochrome e-ink. Peruvemba couldn't speak about any new e-readers from Amazon or Barnes & Noble, but he did say that the company's latest and greatest e-ink display, which goes by the name Pearl and was released last year (it's in the Kindle and Sony Readers but not the Nook), would be it for now; we shouldn't expect anything new in 2011.

"We're generally on a two-year cycle with our e-ink technology," he said. "It takes some time to develop and test the next generation." … Read more

preGame 49: Call of the Dead; PSN outages; L.A. Noire

What a week for video game news! As PSN outages continue to plague PlayStation 3s, Sony has finally declared the incident a "compromise of personal information" and a "malicious act." Does this mean our credit card info has been tossed into the Internet void? Nevermind that, we just want to be able to play Mortal Kombat online again.

Last night's Tribeca Film Festival screening of L.A. Noire marked the first time a video game was spotlighted at the big event. Jeff was there for the screening and Q&A that preceded; plus he'll give us some thoughts on an entire case he played a few weeks ago.

Since Nintendo has confirmed that the successor to the Wii will debut at E3 2011 and go on sale next year, we'll play an interesting voicemail that speculates on how players will interact with the new console.… Read more

Calif. highways could be source of green energy

It might seem a little ironic, but automotive traffic could be the next source of green energy. A bill for a pilot program that will harness road vibration and convert it to energy passed 6-1 in the California State Assembly's Natural Resources Committee yesterday. It will move to the Assembly Transportation Committee for voting next week.

California Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles) first introduced bill AB 306 in February.

Piezoelectric generation captures energy that cars, trains, or people generate as they move across surfaces and cause vibrations. These vibrations can be harnessed and converted to energy using piezoelectric materials … Read more

New Dell Alienware M11x, M14x, M18x laptops: Small-, medium-, and large-scale gaming

Despite leaked product announcements dampening the impact of the streamed Webcast today, Alienware added to its product lineup with additional Alienwares at the extreme small and large ends of the laptop spectrum. The M11x, M14x, and M18x cover the size gamut. We've already reviewed the M14x: check out the hands-on video below for a look at the M14 close-up.

Last year, we loved the Alienware M11x, particularly for its combination of size and power. During today's Alienware Webcast, the successor was announced--and it's got the updated Sandy Bridge specs we expected.

The new Alienware M11x R3 starts … Read more

Next iPod Nano to get camera?

Some people were disappointed when Apple chose to shrink the iPod Nano, give it a smaller 1.5-inch multitouch display, and lose the built-in video camera. Well, if this photo from the Taiwanese Mac Blog Apple.pro--which has been fairly reliable with Apple "spy" pics in the past--is any indication, Apple may be bringing the camera back while retaining the current-generation Nano's tiny form factor.

It would be interesting to speculate how you'd shoot with such a small camera, but one obvious method would be to clip it on lapel-style, turning the Nano into sort … Read more