Barnes & Noble launches its Nook GlowLight e-reader in the UK for £89

Barnes & Noble isn’t exactly a household name in the UK, but in the States it’s a book-selling behemoth, with hundreds of stores complimenting a vast library of e-books, as well as a line of readers to consume them on. In autumn 2012, B&N expanded its reach to the UK (if only in website form), challenging the likes of Amazon and Kobo with its Nook range of tablets and e-readers, including the first with a front-lit display. We’ve seen minimal activity from the company since, but after almost two years without fresh hardware, the new Nook GlowLight launches in the UK today. The second-generation GlowLight e-reader, with significantly improved 6-inch display, is now available for £89 at various retailers including Argos, Currys/PC World, John Lewis, Sainsburys, ASDA and bookshop chain Foyles.

While the Nook GlowLight might best its predecessor, Barnes & Noble has suffered for its dormant period. Particularly, the Nook’s front-lit display tech hasn’t advanced at the same pace as those of its main rivals, the second-generation Kindle Paperwhite and Kobo Aura, despite launching later than both. You can imagine when it went on sale in the US last October sporting the same price tag as the Paperwhite, our full review didn’t exactly paint it as an exciting proposition, despite a polished user experience and access to millions of books, magazines and newspapers.

In the UK, the GlowLight is entering the market at roughly £20 less than its closest competitors, which is significant when affordability is a key selling point for all e-readers. As a second-gen Paperwhite owner who’s been using the new GlowLight recently, I can’t say I would switch to the cheaper device, but also haven’t felt like I’ve been using an inferior product. I’ve found the speed and touchscreen responsiveness of the GlowLight doesn’t quite match that of the Paperwhite, but software- and store-wise, they’re easily comparable.

Barnes & Noble didn’t want its newest e-reader to be a black slab like most others, instead opting for a more rounded design in white, with a grey silicon trim. You can swap that out for other silicon bands in rose or violet (£15 for a pack of two) if grey isn’t your colour, too. B&N succeeded in making the Nook GlowLight more playful than the competition, and its lack of sharp edges, soft bumper and light weight made me more inclined to travel with it in my back pocket. (I tend to carry the more fragile-looking Paperwhite around in a case, in a bag.) The problem with it being white, though, is that it’s a magnet for mucky fingerprints and worse, dye from jean and trouser pockets (see the gallery for a closer look at the stains I couldn’t scrub off).

I still prefer the Paperwhite in most respects, and honestly, I’m too invested in the Amazon ecosystem already to consider moving. How much a person has committed to one platform of another will ultimately have the biggest impact on their purchasing decisions, and the Nook GlowLight turning up so late to the UK can’t help. It might not be quite as good as the competition, but the Nook GlowLight still offers a great e-reading experience at a very reasonable price.

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Source: Barnes & Nobile

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NYT: Russian hacker group has over a billion stolen logins

Russia and internet security don’t exactly go hand in hand, and the latest news that over a billion user-name and password combos being pilfered doesn’t exactly help the country’s reputation. Researchers at Hold Security have found that some 420,000 websites have been hacked, according to The New York Times. The report goes on to say that even though the companies can’t be named due to confidentiality agreements, some sites remain vulnerable and are aware that their data has been compromised. NYT also reports that the data itself hasn’t been sold. Instead, the scammers are spamming victims for others and collecting fees for the work. Hold says that it’s begun the process of alerting individual websites that’ve been breached and that it’s also working on a tool for users to test if their login information has been gleaned without their knowing.

[Image credit: Getty Images]

Filed under: Internet

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Source: New York Times

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Virgin Media’s biggest ever expansion to bring cable to 100,000 London homes

Not content with upping the top speed for many of its existing broadband customers, Virgin Media is also working hard to bring new subscribers into the fold. That’s why the company today announced that as part of its biggest ever expansion, it’ll extend its cable network to 100,000 more London homes. Virgin is focusing solely on East London, with broadband work already underway in Bethnal Green, the Isle of Dogs, Newham and West Ham. Homes in Stratford, Stepney, Poplar, Bow and East Ham are also down for future upgrades. With cable running to their properties, residents will enjoy the benefits of competition, allowing them to choose between Virgin Media 152Mb broadband speeds or BT’s fibre-optic network, which delivers an average of 76Mb and counts Sky and TalkTalk as wholesale suppliers.

Filed under: Household, Internet

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Source: Virgin Media

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Timex’s new Ironman smartwatch does data without a smartphone

Timex just added a new entry to its Ironman line of GPS watches, ‘cept it’s not just any ole timepiece this time — it’s a 3G-connected smartwatch that doesn’t even need to pair up with a phone. The company calls it the Ironman One GPS+, and while it may have features commonly found in a smartwatch, it was made mostly for athletes like its predecessors. It has the capability to upload your run data to a fitness website with one tap, for instance, and you can even assign contacts to monitor your run in real time. One version also comes with a heart monitor a la Samsung Gear Fit and a chest strap, but unlike the ordinary one that costs $350 (which is already steep, as other smartwatches today cost around $200), it’ll set you back $450.

Other than these health-focused features, the One GPS+ also has a built-in messaging app where friends can contact you through a special email address. And, in case of an emergency, there’s an SOS button you can press that alerts friends and family with your location. The ruggedized watch (designed to be water resistant for up to 150 feet) comes with 4GB of storage for music, which can only be heard through a Bluetooth headset. Its battery can last up to 8 hours with the GPS on, and up to three days without. These capabilities might be enough for people who don’t want to be inundated with notifications on their wrists, but those who yearn for more may want to look at alternatives (like Android Wear devices) instead.

Timex’s answer to the LG G Watch, Pebble and HP Gilt, among many other smartwatches out there, was made in partnership with AT&T and Qualcomm, with the former providing free 3G access for a year. Timex didn’t say how much the mobile internet service will cost after that. Qualcomm, on the other hand, will supply the the chipset, the Brew platform and the low-power 1.5-inch Mirasol display that it showcased a year ago through the Toq smartwatch. The company doesn’t exactly have a shipping date in mind yet, but you can already pre-order the One GPS+ through Timex’s website.

Filed under: Wearables, Mobile

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Via: USA Today, TechCrunch

Source: Timex

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Watch the Rosetta spacecraft rendezvous with a comet at 4:00AM ET

After ten years in space and many complex maneuvers later, the European Space Agency’s Rosetta spacecraft is finally in position to rendezvous with the 2.5-mile diameter comet 67P. At 4AM EST today (10AM CEST), the ESA will broadcast a live webcast showing the first signals from the comet’s orbit. Once it gets close enough, the Rosetta will execute a final “close approach trajectory insertion,” a six minute thruster burn that will take it close enough to the comet to be captured by its gravity. Later in the year, a 62-pound lander called Philae will leave the mothership and lock itself down to the comet with harpoons. Using onboard instruments, it’ll examine its composition and relay the information to earth. Finally, Rosetta will tag along with the comet as does a close orbit around the sun, examining how it changes when heated. Meanwhile, enjoy the show (below) as it approaches the giant rock.

Filed under: Science, Alt

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Source: ESA (Rosetta)

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These robots have x-ray vision, thanks to WiFi

These robots from the labs of a University of California, Santa Barbara professor might not be able to outrun anyone, but they sure have a special ability of they own: they can see through walls using only WiFi signals. For the technique to work, the machines work in pairs, with one broadcasting wireless transmissions and another (positioned on the opposite end) measuring them. Since walls and objects reduce signal strength, the receiver can distinguish between empty and occupied spaces to create an accurate map of the area. These aren’t the first robots we’ve seen that can peer through concrete, but the Cougar20-H surveillance robot that emerged years ago uses a number of sensors, whereas UCSB’s creation depends solely on WiFi.

In the future, the researchers believe the technology can be used for search and rescue (it’ll certainly be very useful in rescuing people out of collapsed buildings after earthquakes), to determine the occupancy level of a location and as a helper for archaeological digs. Also, these robots can potentially be outfitted with technology that can classify the object (if it’s human, or what it’s made of if it’s not) they’re seeing through walls. The UCSB team, which has been working on this project for years, has just released a video of the robots in action that you can watch below.

Filed under: Robots

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Source: University of California, Santa Barbara

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A Timex Smartwatch Doesn’t Need Your Phone Connected to It

Smartwatches are slowly taking the tech world by storm, and with the introduction of Android Wear, that storm is building up to be a hurricane of sorts. The only real drawback of using a smartwatch, is of course the fact that you have to connect your watch to your phone via bluetooth in order to utilize all the functions. Some of us don’t really look at this as a nuisance, but others might. Maybe a Timex smartwatch is for those that hate the fact that they have to have their phone connected to their watch at all times.

Yes, the popular watch manufacturer, Timex, has created a smartwatch called the IronMan One GPS+, that doesn’t need to be connected to your phone at all. You can receive messages, utilize GPS, and play your music, all without having your phone close by. The downside: it is ugly as all hell. Sure, it could be nice to have an independent smartwatch, instead of an extension for your phone, but who needs that? We will never get rid of our smartphones, and when it comes to a design of a smartwatch, we want something a little sleek. This watch isn’t exactly about style, but Timex promises that it can withstand water and any other environment thrown at it like their traditional watches.

You can grab the One GPS+ for $400 with free data for a year on AT&T, if you are willing to sign up for a new contract of course. Doesn’t seem like this watch will make much of a splash in the tech world, but it is only the first smartwatch from Timex. There was a video showing off the new watch, but for some reason that video went into private mode, so hopefully they will make it public again for all of you to see.

Source: The Verge

The post A Timex Smartwatch Doesn’t Need Your Phone Connected to It appeared first on AndroidSPIN.

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