Wednesday, 1 January 2014

The Digital Reader

The Digital Reader

The Morning Coffee – 2 January 2014

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 09:21 PM PST

Top stories this Thursday morning include more sparring between Apple and the court-appointed anti-trust monitor (link), another 2014 predictions post (link), a fascinating video of an animatronic book installation (link), and more.

The post The Morning Coffee – 2 January 2014 appeared first on The Digital Reader.

Want Amazon Instant Video on Your Android Tablet? Here’s How to Install it

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 03:52 PM PST

One of the 360714-the-best-android-tabletsKindle Fire’s greatest strengths (and other Android tablet’s weaknesses) is that Amazon’s tablets can stream video from the retail giant. This is one of the reasons that I have held on to my Kindle Fire HD in place of cheaper Android tablets, but that is no longer true.

I’ve just posted a new set of instructions which explain how to get Amazon Instant Video on most Android tablets. You have to install a couple apps and configure them, but once you’ve done that you can stream video from Amazon.

I’ve tested this on a few tablets, and there are reports from TeleRead which say that it works on a lot of tablets. But do you know the best part?

I found a way to get this working on my Nook HD+. Yes, I undercut my single biggest gripe about this tablet, and had to go revise my review.

On a related note, this trick is probably going to force me to revise my review procedure; I have found that this makes an excellent stress test which will help me rank a tablet’s media abilities. For example, the Hisense Sero 7 Pro had trouble keeping the audio in sync with the video. The Nook HD+, on the other hand, didn’t have nearly as much trouble.

You can find the instructions here.

The post Want Amazon Instant Video on Your Android Tablet? Here’s How to Install it appeared first on The Digital Reader.

Kobo Tablets, eReaders Now Available at Best Buy

Posted: 01 Jan 2014 02:59 PM PST

Have youLast Year's Models been wanting to buy a Kobo device but didn’t want to deal with Kobo’s “take the order, lose the order, ship the order” madness?

I have some good news for you.

I have just learned that Best Buy is now carrying the Aura, Aura HD, and all 3 of the Android tablets that Kobo launched this Fall. They only have the black models in stock, but even so that’s a major improvement on 2 weeks ago when BB didn’t have any of the new hardware in stock.

Best Buy’s stock situation is also significantly better than that of major chains like Target, Walmart, or Staples or even indies like Powell’s or Family Christian BookStores; none of those chains have the new Kobo hardware listed on their website.  It’s not just out of stock; there’s no mention at all, nor do they have the hardware in store (I checked).

So is the hardware worth it? Yes and no.

Aside from a new shell, the 6″ Kobo Aura is a slightly improved and updated version of the 2012 Kobo Glo (much like the 2013 Kindle Paperwhite is an updated version of the 2012 Paperwhite), but the Aura HD is a horse of a different color. That is still the only ereader on the market with a 6.8″ screen which has a screen resolution that no other ereader can match.

And as for the tablets, when they were announced in August I compared their specs to other tablets on the market and found Kobo’s 7″ tablets wanting (the jury is still out on the 10″ Kobo Arc 10HD). In the 4 months since that post I have reviewed a dozen tablets, many of which had decent performance and price tags starting at under $100, and I don’t see a reason to change my mind.

I still don’t think Kobo’s hardware is worth the price they put on it, but don’t take that as a firm recommendation until I get a chance to review them. The Arc 7 and the Arc 7HD are the next 2 items on my todo list, and I plan to have review up by the end of the month.

Best Buy

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