Seattle-headquartered Amazon.com Inc has announced the availability of a software application for the Android operating system. The app is part of Amazon’s strategy to reach out to customers using different mobile devices, including the iPhone, the iPod Touch and the BlackBerry.

Android is an open source OS installed on mobile cell phones. The software application from Amazon is freely downloadable to the user’s device that is running Android, available here: http://www.amazon.com/gp/anywhere/sms/android. The app is aimed at buying items from Amazon.com as well as other merchants that have a tie-up with the company.

The app has icons such as “1-Click ordering” and “Prime” to make the purchases. Using the “Your Account” feature, customers can track their packages and also modify orders placed earlier. Editorial and customer reviews of any item or merchandise can be read on the screen of the mobile device. The app also brings in a technology called “Amazon Remembers”, which enables users to take pictures of any item or scan its barcode, and this the software uses to find a match in its inventory. The item details and pricing are displayed, and the user can also compare the pricing across multiple merchants.

Read about the latest offering for Android mobile users from Amazon, here.

The player is available in two capacities: the 16Gb machine costs USD 219.99 while the 32Gb machine is tagged at USD 289.99. They can be preordered from Amazon.com, Best Buy, Walmart and Microsoft. The players will be available in five different colors, and there is an option to customize your particular piece with engravings designed by guest artists, and which you can choose any one from a catalog of ten.

The new version of Zune has a number of nifty features. A built-in HD radio receiver makes the music player a portable radio too, which can catch local FM radio stations. The player can store video which can be viewed on an HDTV by connecting through an HDMI A/V docking station. The Zune is now a touch-screen product. Like its competitor the iPod, the Zune customer can download music from Zune Marketplace.

Read more about the latest launch of a zany new version of Zune by Microsoft, here.

The mobile comes in Indigo Black color, and is a 2-way slider device, weighing 149g with battery, and measuring approx 10.3cmX5cmx1.9cm. The keypad is numeric and includes cover keys such as S60, menu, Send / End, short slide keys such as media control / zoom /gaming, besides dedicated camera and volume keys.

The device comes with an internal memory of 8GB and a microSD memory card slot that can hold up to 16GB worth of external memory.

The phone’s ringtones can be personalized from among a choice of MP3, AAC /AAC+ 64-tone polyphonic, AMR and WMA. For every contact in the database, users can assign images, contact groups, etc.

Operating on Symbian OS 9.3, the system has Nokia’s own Web Browser with Mini Map, besides Ovi 1.0 mail software. Apps such as QuickOffice (analogous to Microsoft’s Office) make it easier to use the mobile phone as a computer.

Read more about the features of the latest model to be launched by Nokia in the US, here.

Ridgefield Park, New Jersey-headquartered Samsung Electronics America has released a new workgroup printer in the market, christened CLP-770ND.

The printer costs USD 999.99. A professional-grade color laser printer, the device is geared for environments where high-volume, bulk printing is the norm. According to the company release, the machine is capable of printing at the rate of 33 pages in one minute, in both black/white and color. The cost to the company per page has been worked out to 9.3 cents for one color page, and 1.8 cents for one black/white page. The toner cartridges that go in the device costs USD 174.99 for color and USD 124.99 for black/white.

The printer comes with an inbuilt 800Mhz CPU, 256MB of RAM and an optional 80GB hard disk option. Its network connectivity capabilities can eliminate the need to connect a printer each to every workstation, and makes it especially attractive to a battery of workstations placed in a room or hall.

The device comes with application softwares such as SyncThru and CounThru, which are tools for IT managers who can use them to remotely manage it.

Read more about the latest printer from Samsung, here.

Palo Alto, California-headquartered Hewlett Packard Development Company L.P. has announced the introduction of a new series of workstations, christened xw9400.

There are four models in this series: FL836UT priced at USD 2,599; FL838UT priced at USD 2,800; FL839UT priced at USD 4,299; and FL840UT priced at USD 4,799.

The new series incorporates AMD’s Opteron processors, ranging from a single quad-core 2376 Opteron CPU to two quad-core Opteron 2376’s. All the workstations have 4GB 667 Mhz DDR2 SDRAM, except the FL840UT, which sports an 8GB RAM. The basic models come with hard disk drives with capacities ranging from 250GB to 500GB.

The four models target different segments of the market. While the lower-end FL836UT is for the price-conscious, the FL838UT is for those who want a high-capacity storage (500GB) but who are not really interested in graphics. The FL839UT and FL840UT are attractive to those with heavy graphics requirements – the machines come with NVIDIA Quadro FX3700 (512 MB) graphics card.

The workstations come with the standard 16X DVD+/-RW SuperMulti SATA optical drive, and are preloaded with Microsoft’s Vista Business Version.

Read more about the latest workstations released in the market by HP, here.

The new tool is called “Citrix Receiver”, and is a lightweight software client that loads and runs on devices such as PCs, Macs and smartphones. This tool works as a self-service user entry point to the XenApp. XenApp is a software suite that manages applications and databases installed by clients in the datacenter. The suite works on Windows platform, which means that the Citrix Receiver is 100% compatible to Windows products.

The tool enables mobile professionals to perform such routine activities as opening documents, updating reports, approving expenses, or even participating in a webinar, all from the iPhone they hold in their hands. The technology allows only keyboard input, screen gestures and screen updates to traverse the network. Data, such as e-mail and intellectual property, never gets sent to or stored on the iPhone.

The Citrix Receiver is available on the iPhone App Store.

Read more about the latest tool developed by Citrix for anywhere file access, here.

The MacBook Pro computer series, introduced by Cupertino, California-headquartered Apple Inc in 2006, has been further extended.

Three new models have been added: 13-inch, 15-inch and 17-inch screens. The 13-inch model is priced beginning from USD 1,199; the 15-inch model begins from USD 1,699; while the 17-inch model is tagged from USD 2,499 onwards. All these models continue with the same single-block aluminum enclosure that is the hallmark of MacBook Pro and its predecessor PowerBook G4.

The battery in the new models is another feature touted by the company as a breakthrough. According to the website, the battery in the MacBook Pro lasts for up to 7 hours, and can be recharged up to 1,000 times before having to be replaced. This is 200 to 300% superior performance than the other battery power available in contemporary notebooks in the market.

The new models also sport Nvidia’s GeForce 9400M graphics processor, giving a smooth operation for graphics-intensive softwares such as Aperture and Motion. Gaming enthusiasts might go in for the 17-inch MacBook Pro where there is GeForce 9600M GT embedded on the motherboard, promising even superior performance.

Read about the latest models in the MacBook Pro series from Apple, here.

Christened “E72″, the new model is an incremental upgrade to the predecessor E71 model, and sports much the same look and feel. The popular QWERTY keyboard of the E71 is carry-forwarded here too, with a new optical navigation key that makes the scrolling through menus, emails, image-panning a more intuitive exercise.

The E72 has a 5 megapixel camera as well as a 3.5 mm audio jack, which are now fast becoming the de facto standard for camera phones. Nokia is leveraging its proprietary technology of instant messaging (IM) to bring this feature to every mobile it is now manufacturing, and E72 has the IM account-setup provision too. Mobile users can now not only conduct voice conversations with others, they can also text their conversations to mobile as well as PC users using the IM. Emailing has become easier with a sleeker UI that takes away much of the tedium of navigating through the layers of menus and options for receiving and sending a plain letter.

The product is expected to cost EUR 350 before taxes and subsidies, and is likely to come to the market by Q3 2009.

Read about the latest launch of its mobile phone by Nokia, here.

Cupertino, California-headquartered Apple Inc has announced the release of its latest version of the iPhone mobile device, christened iPhone 3G S.

The product is priced at USD 199 for the 16GB model, and at USD 299 for the 32GB model. The earlier model (without the “S” suffix) is now available at USD 99 for the 8GB model.

More notable features of this device include 3 megapixel autofocus camera, video recording capability, hands-free voice control. The 3G S comes incorporated with iPhone OS 3.0, which comes very close to the desktop OS in its features such as Cut/ Copy/ Paste.

The device deploys the OpenGL ES 2.0 standard for 3D graphics, and 7.2 Mbps HSDPA for networking speeds.

The autofocus camera also has a “tap to focus” feature, with which users can readjust the focus and exposure on one particular object or area of interest on the display by simply touching it. Video clips, once captured in the phone, can be trimmed appropriately, and then emailed or MMSed. The voice control feature has built-in microphone through which appropriate voice commands can be issued, which can then automatically activate the dialing of the corresponding number, or playing a desired music.

Read about the latest offering in mobile technology from Apple, here.

Previously code-named “Meer Meer”, a free preview of BrowserLab is now on offer to Website designers. The tool will likely help designers test how their sites will look and function across a wide variety of operating system platforms and browsers which visitors will make use of when reaching their sites. In normal course, this testing is very time- and manpower- intensive. Around the world, people work on browsers from IE 6.x to 8.x, Firefox 1.x to 3.x, Safari 1.x to 3.x, and so on. Then they have machines that run Windows versions right from 98 to the latest Vista, the mindboggling flavors of Linux, and Macintosh. According to the company release, BrowserLab takes away the tedium of testing a finished website on these popular browsers and OS, so that designers can release their final version with the satisfaction of having done a good job.

BrowserLab is a cloud-based service. 

Read more about the latest tool for website design, an offering from Adobe, here.

E3 Brought many great things this year and I’m seeing many things that I like. So what better way to share them then take you through my E3 Highlights. This year E3 was a more software focused event meaning we didn’t see too much in the way of hardware related items. Microsoft announced some, and so did Sony but Nintendo didn’t really have anything.

First off I’d like to start off with the XBox 360 (My Personal Favorite). The system remains unchanged this year at E3 so that makes things a bit easier. They did come out with a new way of interacting with your games by using a camera to kind of put yourself in the game, which looks pretty cool I myself probably wont’ really use this I however do know many others that will. Some Top news games include Modern warfare 2 which looks pretty amazing as well as Forza Motorsport 3 which I am really looking forward to. They came out with a few others including a Left 4 Dead sequel and a few others.

Something that I found really interesting is how Microsoft is changing Live in order to stay competitive. They are going to be offering full game downloads, 1080P movies and more interactive content. The games downloads really struck me as I think this would be great for popular launching titles. I mentioned this in my other post: 5 reasons why downloads are better.

Sony had a few new things that were pretty predictable, as everyone knew the PSP Go came out creating a new type of PSP for gamers that will be coming out in October for $249 American. God of War III is coming for the PS3 and gran turismo for the PSP. Other than that I didn’t really see a whole that really interested me.

Nintendo came out with many great game announcements at E3. Including Super mario bros. for the wii which will allow for up to 4 people to play at once. Mario galaxy is coming out with a sequel which sounds pretty cool. There is also a new Zelda and wii sports resort.

In the end you can see there is mostly software related things at E3 which all look pretty neat and I’m sure many people will agree this is what we really needed. I’m sure most people just want to enjoy the hardware they currently own and don’t want to spend more buying all new systems.

Richmond, Washington-headquartered Microsoft Corporation used the occasion of the ongoing Computex 2009 event being organized at Taipei – where the entire galaxy of anybody and everybody of IT has converged – to announced the date of launch for its latest operating system, Windows.

Windows 7, the latest version of Microsoft’s Operating System and its flagship product and major bread-earner, is set for launch for October 22, 2009. Windows Server 2008 R2, the operating system for a network of computing devices, will also be launched around the same time.

In order to not make customers stop buying their latest version in the market – Windows Vista – between now and October 22, Microsoft has promised that customers can buy a Vista copy and upgrade to Windows 7 no sooner it becomes available.

Between the launch of Vista and Windows 7, the computing domain has witnessed a sea change in consumer perspective. People have embraced netbooks and mobile computing devices, and internet has become available on a wider range of screens than just those belonging to desktops. Microsoft has had to accommodate this new reality into its new version of the operating system, and hence the delay in its launch.

Read about the latest development in the decades-long Desktop OS saga scripted by Microsoft, here.

Microsoft has scheduled BING to be deployed worldwide on June 3, 2009. Bing is being touted as a “Decision Engine” as opposed to a search engine, alluding to its larger scope of “assisting Internet users make faster, more informed decisions”.

The Bing software in its present avatar will likely be a website to begin with, with buttons and toolbars to be added to its search repertoire as the momentum grows. The website is likely to be different from the present homepage of Google, which has nothing but a long textbox where you are expected to type your search keyword. To begin with, you will have a homepage that has all features that are geared exclusively for searching the web.

The latest software is likely to throw up all search engine-specific SEO techniques for a comprehensive overview. Expect new terminology to creep in into the market, with the earlier terms either becoming outdated or being given new definitions. Also expect a new community of “Experts” to evolve who will charge you XXX dollars to buy their ebook or to subscribe to their newsletter so that you can keep abreast with the latest techniques to be ranked first in Bing’s pages.

Read more about the latest attack on Google’s search market supremacy by Microsoft, here.

Currently rumors are telling us that apple will be implementing a camera into iPod devices. Obviously not the shuffle, more likely the nano or Classic. My beans are on the nano though. iLounge thinks the same.

I’m not sure if this will happen as I don’t really see the big use of this camera on a portable music player. After all it’s made for music right? Phones make more sense as you can send to image to someone and do things with it on the go. “Normal” iPods don’t even have Wifi let alone a cellular connection. The iPod touch does however have Wifi, but obviously apple wouldn’t want to cannibalize sales they most likely won’t put a camera on the touch for fear people will buy that instead of the iPhone. I mean there was time when the touch couldn’t even send e-mails, but when you think about it sending e-mails on an mp3 player seems kinda weird in the first place doesn’t it?

With apple introducing the 3.0 OS on the iPhone and touch apple is said to be including Video recording. So the touch may have the capability but history shows us it’s not likely. Another theory I have is that apple could include a camera on the touch but remove video capability and only allow still photos.

The nano coming with a camera doesn’t seem too useful to me. You may think it would be the same as any other camera but the quality would be very low due to the small enclosure of the nano. If it offered GEO tagging or a connection to an online service then maybe It would be more useful. Mind you though I don’t like all these new low quality cameras on small devices. I would rather a high quality camera.

As the launch date of the palm pre approaches I’m getting more, and more excited to see exactly what palm has in store for us. You may or may not know that the palm pre is the make or break device for palm. They need to have a success in order keep their company moving.

I hope palm has created a truly unique device that allows for a different sort of user interaction that is able to compete with the iPhone’s simplicity. One thing I think they have done right is they have started with something new and fresh. One of the biggest problems with the storm is they tried to take and Operating system that was originally design to be used on a device that had a trackball and keyboard vs. Something with a touch screen. Palm on the other hand made something new that would be easy to adapt to touchscreen.

Something else that really excites me about the device is that you are able to develop for the device using simple web technologies that are popular today. This has to be one of the smartest decisions on palm’s part because it allows people to start developing with minimal instruction. For the average consumer that means you get more and better applications.

In the end I want to see the device succeed and meet all the hype and expectations of people so we can finally take down the iPhone as the only “good” touch screen phone. After all competition is innovation!