Using Laptops in Direct Sunlight

Walt answers readers’ questions on laptops under the sun, the iPad vs. the Kindle and using iTunes as a data backup.

Irex’s E-Reader Poses No Threat to the Kindle

Irex’s DR800SG has a large, sharp screen for comfortable reading, but overall the device is clumsier to use than Amazon’s Kindle.
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Amazon: There’s a Crude Black-and-White App for That

How large is the market for crude monochrome E-Ink apps for the Kindle? We’re about to find out, because Amazon is finally opening up the e-reader to developers. The retailer unexpectedly announced the Kindle Development Kit this morning, inviting software developers to build “active content” for the device.
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Sony’s E-Reader Opens New Chapter in Kindle Rivalry

The wireless Reader Daily Edition is a much-improved model that could make it more competitive with Kindle, but its interface takes some mastering, says Walt Mossberg.
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How to Add Color to a Kindle: Pixel Qi’s Cheap Screens

Amazon’s Kindle gets many plaudits, but it also gets one consistent criticism: Why can’t it come with a color screen? It can, say the folks at Pixel Qi, a start-up based in Silicon Valley and Taiwan: It could use the cheap, lightweight color screens that we’re going to make.
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