It seems as if everyday another company jumps into the eReader market.  Everyone wants a piece of the Amazon Kindle money, just like everyone wants a piece of the iPod/iPhone business.  It appears that the eReader is the latest and greatest frontier.  Next into the market is Asus.  The reports say that the most likely time for the reader to appear is late 2009.  I am guessing most  likely for the holiday season.  Joining Asus is another rumor that MSI is also looking into releasing a reader of its own.  So, we have two of the biggest netbook makers looking to branch out.  Well, they already have 10″ screens available.  Personally, I am all for competition.  That leads to the best products at the best prices.  Right now, we have Amazon, Sony, Samsung, Plastic Digital/Barnes & Noble, Asus, and maybe MSI.  So, bring on the eReader showdown!!!

Via:  Gizmodo

So,here is my dilemma.  I love taking pictures of my three kids.  I snap so many pictures, they must be starting to think I am a member of the paparazzi, stalking them.  The problem is, what can I do with all of these pictures.  My family is always harassing me to email them photos or create new web albums.  But to do that, I have to download the pictures from  my camera to my computer, sort through the photos, decide which photos to share, choose an online service, and then upload them to the web so I can invite others to view them,  Overall, this is a pretty cumbersome and time consuming process.  I have always felt there must be an easier way to share my photos, and now there is, thanks to Eye-Fi.

Eye-Fi takes all of the complication out of sharing your photos and videos by combining a memory card and wireless transmitter into one tiny accessory.  The Eye-Fi is essentially an SD/SDHC memory card, and is compatible with any devices which use SD or SDHC memory.  What makes the Eye-Fi card unique is that it contains a tiny wireless transmitter, which allows it to utilize any wireless network to upload photos and videos directly from your camera.  It even comes in five flavors (including two 2Gb and three 4Gb versions).  You can see how the different models compare by checking out this chart.  In the meantime, we will be looking at the 4GB Pro version, which is the most feature rich of the Eye-Fi models. 

To get started, you will first need to set up the card. To do this, just insert the card into any computer which is connected to a wireless network, and download the Eye-Fi wireless manager. 

Once installed, the wireless manager will allow you to give the Eye-Fi card permission to access your wireless network and designate which of the nearly two dozen photo sharing services you wish to use. 

You can connect as many services as you like, but the Eye-Fi can only upload to one at a time, so you will have to designate which one is the primary service for uploads.  The Eye-Fi Pro also allows you to access any public hotspot around the country, meaning you are never far from sharing your photos.

Once you have the card all prepared, you are ready to start snapping photos.  Just insert the card into your camera’s memory card slot, like you would with any other memory card and away you go.  Point-click-shoot-save.   I found the memory card portion of the Eye-Fi worked about as well as any other standard memory card, with pretty much average read and write speeds.

The real magic begins when you are within range (about 90 feet) of your wireless network or hotspot.  Just turn on your camera and let the fun begin.  Your pictures will be automatically uploaded to whichever online service you designated, as well as the Eye-Fi manager on your computer.  I thought the upload speeds felt a little slow, but once I compared them to the upload speeds from my computer to the same online services, they turned out to be pretty close to the same speed.  The only downside to all of this is that your camera must be turned on in order for Eye-Fi to connect to the network, so you may want to turn off any sleep settings and consider plugging the camera into an AC outlet before you begin uploading.  Otherwise, your batteries are not likely to last long. 

By default, the Eye-Fi card will upload every image on the card.  You can change this to manual from the wireless manager on your computer.  Once manual is activated, only images you designate (by marking them with the protect tool) will be uploaded.  This is a great way to maintain control, especially if you want to conserve battery power by only uploading your favorite photos.

Finally, every photo you take will be automatically geotagged.  I thought this was fantastic, especially for archiving purposes.  Twenty years from now, those photos will have a nice map attached to them showing exactly where they were shot.  How cool is that?

The best mobile gadgets are those which take something you were going to do anyway, and make it easier.  That is exactly what I found with the Eye-Fi.  Look, most of you take digital photos so you can share them, and many of you use an online service to accomplish that.  With Eye-Fi, sharing is now as easy as simply taking a picture.  Instead of 10 steps, Eye-Fi has reduced the process to a single step.  Just point-click-and share.  My only question is how all of you have lived without one of these for so long.

What I Liked:

• The combination of 4Gb of storage and wireless connectivity
• Geotagging
• Hotspot compatible
• Automatically connects with dozens of online services
• Easy to setup and use

What Needs Improvement:

• Requires camera to be turned on to upload, which can drain batteries
• Only SD/SDHC compatible

Where To Buy: www.eyefi.com

Price: $149.99 (Eye-Fi Pro version)

I have to admit that I have never been one to dabble to deep in the stock market.  Most of my money is in IRAs or index based funds.  Plus, I rarely want to have the values too close, because looking at how much money I am constantly losing can get a bit depressing these days.  Nonetheless, for those of you who do like to have your net worth in the palm of your hand at all times, there is a fantastic app called Express Stocks. 

The main screen shows all of your investments at a quick glance.  This is really nice if you just want to get an overview of how badly your portfolio has been performing.  To get more information on any individual stock, just tap it.  This will show you the recent trends over time, as well as any recent news which could affect its value.  It would have been nice if the app had included a chart or graph showing recent trends in the value of the stock.  But this was not necessary to enjoy the features the app did offer.

When you start the app, you will be shown information for Palm, Sprint, and Bank of America.  I think even they know it would be a pretty big coincidence if those entries actually matched your investment strategy.  So, you will want to add your own stocks and funds in order to personalize the display.  To add a new item, just hit the plus sign on the main screen and then enter the quote or symbol for the stock you wish to add.  That’s it.  It will now appear on the main screen.

In addition to your own stocks, you can also check out how different markets are doing generally.  It looks like unless you are investing in Indian or British markets, you may be in trouble.  Good thing my investment strategy is very long term right now.

You can even check out all the latest business  and market headlines and market movers, in order to stay on top of all the information you need to make an informed decision.

I thought Express Stocks offered a fantastic option for keeping track of all of your investments.  I would have appreciated a few more advanced options, such as some charts or graphs showing recent trends, but that was not entirely necessary.  The best part of the app, by far, was its ease of use.  All you need to know is the name of your investment, and let this app do the rest.  Whether or not you choose to look at the results is up to you.

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I really, really hated the trackpad on my Wind. Actually, I thought I hated all trackpads until I bought my Mac and realized that the other ones were just too small  (that’s not Mac-specific gushing, I just don’t know any other models off-hand with gigantic trackpads). The trackpad on the MacBook Pro is so big it actually dwarfs my iPhone 2G’s screen.

I own a Logitech VX Nano that I bought to use with my Wind, and I kept it around because I thought I’d need it for the MBP. However, I’ve found that between the size of the trackpad and the multi-touch gestures for alt tabbing and right-clicking (it does exist on the Mac after all!), I really don’t need a mouse for activities outside of gaming. There has been one downside to the trackpad usage, though, and it took me two whole months to realize there was a ridiculously simple solution.

One of the ‘new features’ of the 2008 aluminum MacBook lineup was the new buttonless trackpad. It works a lot like the Blackberry Storm where the whole touch surface is the button. Unfortunately, due to my lack of experience with previous trackpad setups, my first instinct was to navigate and click the trackpad with my pointing finger. It made sense to me, but it was also really, really tiring. The MBP’s trackpad is a button, but it has a fair amount of resistance unless you click from the lowest point — preferably in the corner.

After a couple of hours of photo editing and surfing, my finger would get worn out and I eventually began wondering how other users coped with “trackpad fatigue”. Then earlier this week it dawned on me that there was a reason the lower portion of the trackpad was clickable, but not touch-sensitive (the cursor won’t move at all if you touch along the bottom). That’s where my bloody thumb is supposed to go while I navigate with another finger. Then I looked at all of the other trackpads on all of the other laptops I’d ever seen where the buttons were positioned right along the bottom. Ohhh.

Ever since that pathetically obvious realization, I’ve been using the trackpad as it was probably designed. Looking back on it now, it’s funny how differently I approached the trackpad because it was just one gigantic clicking slate. If there was some sort of obvious dividing line or a separate physical button, I would probably have picked up on the thumb-and-finger usage a lot faster.

Earlier this week, Handmark released Down 4 The Count, their new boxing game for the iPhone. This seems like a very nice way to relieve stress. If someone makes you mad, hop on your iPhone and beat up some people in the ring. Hopefully this will give you some relief…and the cops won’t be involved either.

Look for a review and possibly even an iPhone boxing game head-to-head coming soon.

Of course, Handmark wasn’t done with just an iPhone release. As Brian pointed out, they released Astraware Boardgames for BlackBerry. They also updated two of their Symbian/S60 games: Astraware Boardgames and Astraware Solitaire.

It is refreshing to see a developer still releasing games for platforms other than the iPhone. I know it can’t be easy, but the group at Handmark/Astraware always seem to get the job done and give us some entertaining games.

See below for official Down 4 The Count press release:

Let your fingers do the punching in Down 4 The Count!
Show your quick finger reflexes in this full-on action arcade boxing game. Take on 10 challenging opponents including Banker Bob, Zed the Zombie, and the ultimate Cyborg 3300 – each with their own boxing style and special skills. Each bout lasts up to three rounds, providing for fast and furious game play! Climb the career ladder as you beat increasingly tougher opponents to unlock the next challenger!

Tap to punch, swipe to dodge, touch and hold to block, and save up your punching power to unleash your Fire Punch!
Use the speed punch bag to train and increase your stamina and punching power
Earn the right to upgrade your gloves as you progress through the game
Use your powerful Fire Punch to knock out your opponents
Take on 10 unique fighters, each with special skills
Defeat all 10 to become the World Champion!

Down 4 the Count also includes the new OS 3.0 iPod Library feature which allows you to create the ultimate boxing soundtrack from your iPod music!

Copyright: 2009 Spidermonk Entertainment. 2009 Astraware Limited, a subsidiary of Handmark, Inc.
iTunes URL: http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewSoftware?id=327368176&mt=8
Product Page: http://www.astraware.com/iphone/d4tc
YouTube demo: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvEX1Dif1HM