Angry Web

Owners of eReaders haven’t been able to get their hands on the popular “Harry Potter” series until recently. Now that you can find your favorite prepubescent wizard in the digital format, Amazon is making things even sweeter by adding the Potter books to the Kindle Lending Library starting in June.

For those not familiar with the program, Amazon will allow for the downloading of 1 book at a time per month which can be digitally “returned” when you’re ready to download a new book. Unfortunately, for those that use tablets, iPads and iPhones, the lending library only works for Kindle devices such as the Kindle Touch or the Kindle Fire.

The Lending Library is part of the Amazon Prime service which costs only $79 per year and includes access to free 2 day shipping and a library of streaming TV shows and movies.

Ever wonder what you would look like as Darth Maul?…Me neither. But if curiosity has peaked your interest or you’re just a hardcore fan of the “Star Wars” franchise, this app may be for you.

Join the dark side and become Darth Maul using the free Darth Maul Me mobile app from Star Wars: Episode I in 3D. Whether you want to turn your face completely into one of Star Wars’ greatest villains, use the partial Darth Maul tattoos, or only give yourself the Sith eyes, Darth Maul Me has an option for you. Simply take a photo with your camera or use an existing photo to quickly and easily turn yourself into Darth Maul.  Share your creation with your friends and encourage them to join you on the dark side.

This app is now available in the app store and require the following specs:

Supported Devices:
iPhone 3GS / 4 / 4S and iPod Touch

Supported OS:
iOS 5 and above.

Now, who is waiting for the “Jar Jar Me” app?

“Star Wars: Episode I” re-releases in theaters Friday, February 10 in 3D.

Unlike Boarders (R.I.P.), Barnes and Noble has done a pretty good job of staying relevant in an eBook market. With their house brand of eReader, The Nook, B&N has just announced their entrance into the tablet market just weeks after Amazon announced their Kindle Fire.

The Nook Tablet will be released on November 18, in alignment with the Kindle Fire, and will be a multimedia device with support for books, movies, apps and more. The Nook Tablet will also have full support for Hulu, Netflix and Pandora. Of course there will also be support for books and comics along with a web browser and email capabilities.

Our fastest, lightest tablet with the best in HD entertainment

• HD movies, TV shows and music from the top names—Netflix, Hulu Plus™, Pandora® & more
• World’s most advanced VividView™ 7″ Touchscreen
• Over 2.5 million books, magazines, comics & kids’ books
• Lightning fast Email, Web & smooth streaming video
• Thousands of must-have apps like Angry Birds and Epicurious
• 16 GB of memory, extra-long battery life—yet ultra-light and thin
• Always free NOOK support in-store

The Nook Tablet is now available for preorder at $249, just $50 more than the Kindle Fire, and you can see a full spec list on B&N’s website.

Well, it wasn’t the iPhone 5 as most people were expecting and as of now, Apple’s stock took a slight hit after the announcement of a new iPod Nano, iPod Touch and the iPhone 4S.

After months of speculation online from insiders and other “sources”, there was no iPhone 5 announced. Apple’s method of keeping everything a secret until it is officially announced might have created a bit of backlash on this one as the keynote did not meet the media’s, or consumer’s, expectations.

The iPhone 4S will basically be the same phone on the outside with some tweeks on the inside boasting an 8 megapixel camera and double the speed with a A5 chip. Most of the new features will be available through a software update that is compatible with iPhones going back to the 3GS.

The most impressive news from the keynote was Siri, which is basically an AI assistant that will allow users to dictate text messages, search the web using voice recognition or schedule events.

The iPhone 4S will be available on October 14th and can be preordered for AT&T, Verizon or Sprint starting October 7th.

Just in time for the holidays, Amazon has unveiled their new line up of Kindles. Now as low as $79, the Kindle has made itself available for all budgets and have even introduced a tablet that is aggressively priced to be the first real iPad competitor.

The base model is as low as $79 with advertisements and has slight changes since the Kindle 3. Amazon has completely done away with the keyboard and made it lighter (though previous models were pretty light already). This model comes in WiFi only but at the price, it’s not difficult to load it up at home and take it with you wherever you go.

The next model up, the Kindle Touch, now has a touch screen and will be available in WiFi or 3G versions starting as low as $99. Like previous models, the 3G will allow you to download books from wherever you are and will have no monthly fees associated with it.

The big change from the previous model would be the touch screen which replaces all buttons and keys on the unit.

Lastly, the one we have all been waiting for, the Kindle Fire. The Kindle Fire is a high resolution, full color tablet that seems to have its limitations from others on the market (like not having a 3G model) but has it where it counts…especially when it comes to pricing.

A mere fraction of what the iPad costs, the Kindle Fire starts under $200 and will allow full media playback including music, movies and streaming for Amazon Prime members. It also allows for full color books and magazines to be read and even though it will come with 8GB of on-board memory for media and apps (which will be available through Amazon), Amazon will be providing free cloud access so media can be stored with them while you access it on your device.

From the provided details, it may not be an iPad but for those who are interested in watching, reading, listening, checking email and browsing the web, the $200 price point may be a better bargain than Apple’s tablet. Also, with Amazon’s distribution (expect to see this on Amazon’s home page for the next year), this is sure to be a winner and may give Apple a run for their money in the tablet market.

Nokia has announced its plans to release the Nokia 5800 XpressMusic handset by the end of this year.  This is the first in a series of handsets to feature the “S60 Touch”, the latest touchscreen version of Nokia’s Symbian operating system.  Why are we talking about this at Angry Web?  Well, because it’s the phone used by Lucius Fox in “The Dark Knight” to infiltrate into Lau’s headquarters (I don’t think this model will have sonar capability)!

Here are the specs:

• Three versions: Quad-band GSM with 850/1900 WCDMA, Quad-band GSM with 900/2100 WCDMA and Quad-band GSM with no 3G
• WiFi and GPS
• 3.2-inch touchscreen display, 640 x 360 pixels, 16 million colors, tactile feedback
• 1320 mAh battery (!)
• 3.2 megapixel camera with Zeiss optics, dual LED flash, 30 fps video capture
• Bluetooth 2.0 with A2DP, USB 2.0 (microUSB port)
• Stereo speakers
• Finger and stylus UI control
• New media bar interface, always accessible via a touch-sensitive button above the display
• Proximity sensor to save battery life and avoid inadvertent touches
• 111 x 51.7 x 15.5 mm, 109 g
• Available in black, red and blue

Expect the 5800 to be just under $400 US and to be released sometime later this year.  Just don’t expect it to map out your entire city by syncing with one of those Wayne Enterprises satellites