Star Wars Episode 7 - What You Ned to Know So Far!

It might be time to pick-up your Kindle and rewatch the original Star Wars trilogy because a new set of movies is coming soon. Namely, we can expect Star Wars: Episode VII to hit theaters right on December 18, 2015. In all honesty we can all agree that this is still quite some time away from today. Nonetheless, it is certainly good news that all Star Wars fans can rejoice to.

Today’s article will be dedicated to analyzing recent reports from the unofficial Star Wars 7 news blog and looking at just how good their info really is. While it is obviously too early to talk details about the movie there is a lot of gossip, hear-say and rumors flooding the entire Net and we’re here to shed some light on the situation. We’ll talk a bit about the rumors and then show you the leaked photo of the awesome new X-Wing design.

How to Protect Your Home from Burglary (Infographic)

We've made quite a few posts on this blog in the past couple of weeks with the purpose of discusing matters of personal and home security, but infographics are a relatively new thing for our blog. The folks at Your Greatest Protection have sent a cool-looking poster our way, so we hope you'll find the information presented here rather useful! Here's the infographic:

Ever Heard of the iStun?

If you are interested in providng yourself or your loved ones with great tools for personal security and self-defense then we have a very interesting device to present to you today. Namely, we recently found a very interesting product, a stun device by Guard Dog Security that is called the iStun smartphone stun gun. They've actually patented this idea and created a device that that looks like an Apple smartphone, but is actually a powerful stun gun meant to be used for self-defens. It comes with an array of features such as LED flashlight, a safety switch and powerful 3.8 million stun pad. So, how about we look at the specs and we'll tell you how you can get it for 10% and with free shipping!

Amazon Smartphones Coming in 2014?

There's this article on a Serbian blog that I write for that got me thinking about the cost-effectiveness of having a Amazon smartphone on the market. You can read the full mobile industry analysis here if you can translate it, but I will focus on what I feel is important for this blog - the news that Amazon is interested in making a smartphone! Considering their awesome success with the Kindle Fire tablets I bet that this would be a great investment.

I hate the name, but I think we all get the idea

Kindle Fire HD 2 Leaked Photos

It's been a while since the Kindle Fire HD came out and it seems that we are finally getting a new Amazon tablet. So far, the new tablet is labeled as the Kindle Fire HD 2, but this needn't be the official name of the device. In the past we had some interesting 'leaked' photos, but this is certainly one of the most authentic leaks I've seen. It seems unlikely that Amazon has made such a mistake in its security so it may be possible that this is a publicity trick to draw more attention and hype.Here's one of these Kindle Fire HD 2 leaked photos which shows a 7 inch tablet featuring a very stylish, elegant design.

This is probably the only BGR photo that looks like it wasn't edited, but other photographs we will show you in this post were edited to hide something. What is hidden by the black rectangles was not disclosed anywhere, but we can't imagine its anything we haven't seen before. After all, the Kindle Fire HD is best known for its ecosystem, great software and pretty powerful specs that don't quite fit the low price tag. The new HD 2 model will certainly be a major improvement compared to the previous one. Here's another photo:

Back view of the Kindle Fire HD2

So, what will the specs be like? We have nothing official to report, but it seem that the new Kindle Fire HD will be catching up to the Nexus 7. The expected resolution of the display is 1,920 by 1,200 which is a significant jump over the current device (1200 x 800). The source also claims that we can expect the quad-core Qualcomm Snapdragon 800 processor running at 2 GHz to run under the hood. This is a very powerful CPU and its hard to believe that it will come for $199. Aside from this the source says we can expect 2GB of RAM, WiFi, and a 16/32/64 GB internal storage plan. The version of Android that Amazon will fork and customize is Android 4.2.2 which is certainly great news.

 So to recap the rumor suggests the following changes:

• Resolution will be 1920x1200, a change from 1200x800
• Quad-core 2 GHz processor, up from dual-core 1.2 GHz
• New 64GB internal memory model
• 2GB of RAM, up from 1 GB
• Customized Android 4.2.2, an improvement from the 4.0 OS

 So, how long will we wait before the new Kindle Fire HD 2 comes out? It is hard to say, but it might be a while. I am actually rather certain that it is worth grabbing the Kindle Fire HD 7" for the limited $159 price while you wait for the new one.

Kindle Fire HD Coming to India

 Amazon has made its fame, glory and income in the USA, but like any constantly growing company it is always important to keep growing. New markets and ventures are always interesting to see, and Amazon will try to spread its business throughout India via the release of Kindle Fire HD tablets. Not long ago Amazon India was open for business at the web-location of Amazon.In but it currently there isn't a lot that Amazon has to offer. However, major changes don't happen overnight and Amazon will try to grow this new venture over the next years. One of the first steps for this is to bring affordable tablet devices and e-readers to their new clients and this is where the Kindle Fire HD comes in.

 Their official press release states that they plan to offer their clients from India the Kindle Fire HD 7 and 8.9 inch device. The release date for the two tablets is June 27th and the two tablets will ship for 15,999 ($275) and 21,999 ($380) rupees with access to a reported 1.9 million-plus apps, games and books. While this does sound great and all, it is a rather standard offer and the price is a bit concerning. However, this is hardly Amazon's fault since, from what we understand, India has major taxes and tariffs on electronic devices. Nonetheless, it is great that the people in India are slowly getting access to all perks that Amazon can provide and hopefully their new business will grow.

 Where can you get one o these devices in India aside from the official website? Well, Amazon will ship their tablets to local retail stores by the end of the month as well. Among these retailers the most famous names include Croma, Reliance Digital, E-Zone and Vijay Sales stores. These are located in the following cities: Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Ahmedabad and Pune

Star Wars Episode 7 Plot Ideas

 Star Wars Episode 7 will be created by Disney and will hit theaters in 2015. After that, Disney hopes to publish episode VIII in 2016 and episode XIX in 2017. One must wonder if Disney has started this project just for financial gain or if there is an actual motive to continue a great series. Either way so far things are going well and fans seem satisfied.

 The storyline of the new movie is still unknown, but allow us to make some assumptions. First of all, we are expecting to see the Sith back in full force. Namely, the new movie will take place 20 to 40 years from where Episode VI left off. This means that the Lost Tribe of the Sith which is talked about it many books should make an appearance. What is this tribe?

 Well, the name does suggest things rather accurately. This is a group of Sith warriors who have been lost for over 20,000 years on an unknown planet. They have enslaved the local population and create a civilization of their own. These Sith however lack technology and an army to actually return to known space, but this might change in Star Wars Episode VII. This is because the Sith masters will sense Luke Skywalker through the Force and seek to eradicate him and destroy the new Republic.

 Now that the Republic is weak and the Jedi are still young, it is a perfect chance for the Sith to try and rule the galaxy once more. Of course, this is just a prediction, but it is based on valid facts as the Lost Tribe is mentioned many times in the expanding universe and their leaders will try to assassinate Luke Skywalker. Aside from this the expanded universe also suggests that some formal officers and admirals who served the Empire have survived the war and are looking for revenge. 

 There is a large pool of ideas already available thanks to the expanded universe and the producers will have to keep this in mind since their new movie shouldn't go against what is currently being written the expanded universe. This makes things rather difficult, but it also means that a lot of work has been done already and someone needs to glue all the pieces together.

 For more news and stories, follow the Star Wars 7 blog for regular updates!

Amazon buys Ivona, a text-to-speech software company

 Ever head of Ivona? Neither have I, but this company really got Amazon's attention. The company has announced that it has acquired Ivona Software, which specialized in text-to-speech software. The company had already been working close with Amazon, providing text-to-speech, voice commands, and Explore by Touch features to the Kindle Fire.

What might this acquisition mean for Amazon? Well, it could mean that the company is looking to develop more advance voice recognition features for its lineup of Kindle devices. Perhaps they intend to offer up competition to Apple’s Siri and Google Now.  The move also makes sense if Amazon enters the smartphone market as often rumored lately.

Regardless of where Amazon’s purchase of Ivona leads, it sure makes for interesting speculation.

Alcatel Tab7 HD vs Kindle Fire HD 7" - Early Review

 Not a lot of people in the USA have heard of Alcatel as this a brand mostly popular in Europe and Asia. They aren't the type that produces the best quality you have ever seen, but some of their device are quite popular as they are inexpensive and provide solid specs and good quality. The Alcatel Tab7 HD (sometimes also called the Alcatel One Touch Tab7 HD) has been announced for 2013 and we are here to give an early review and comparison with the Kindle Fire HD 7". While this little Kindle Fire HD vs Alcatel Tab7 HD review will not be a fair battle since we haven't really seen the device in action yet, it should give all of you who are interested into these two models a good idea of which you should be saving your money for. Please note that this device is also

Early photo of the Alcatel Tab7 HD from CES

The Display

 Both devices have a similar display with the same resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. Also, both of these tablets use a IPD TFT capacitive technology. This category would be a draw, however there are still two things to consider. The first is that the Kindle Fire HD has multi-touch and supports up to 10 fingers at once which does make it a winner in my book when it comes to the display itself. However, the second thing is that we are yet to see the quality of the Alcatel Tab 7 HD's display so let us not call anything yet.

The Hardware and the OS

 This is obviously very important for any comparison, but trust me this will not be the deal breaker when it comes to the Alcatel Tab7 vs Kindle Fire HD. Benchmarks show that the Tab7 has a faster processor, but it doesn't really win by a lot even though its has 1.6 GHz clock speed compared to the Kindle's 1.2 GHz. 

 Both of these devices have 1 GB of RAM and as far as internal memory goes the KF has a small advantage. Namely, it sports a 16 and 32 GB model, while the Tab7 has 8 GB of internal memory. However, the Alcatel One Touch Tab 7 also has support for a microSD card. Amazon's tablet can only counter this with the free Amazon cloud storage that their users can get.

 The Tab 7 does beat the Kindle Fire HD 7" when it comes to the camera since the Tab 7 features both a front (2MP) and rear VGA camera. The KF HD only has a rear 1.3 MP shooter.

 In terms of the OS, both devices obviously run on Android and Alcatel will have Android Jelly Bean on their device. Amazon currently has a forked version of the Ice Cream Sandwich which works quite well on this device, especially with the latest bug fixes and updates that Amazon has released.

The Price

 Now this is where we might get a deal breaker! The Kindle Fire HD normally costs around $199, but the Alcatel Tab7 is set to cost around $129 once the device is released. That a great price for the level of quality you will be getting! I have owned several inexpensive Alcatel products and I am impressed with the job that this company has done. When it comes to the tablets alone I would go for the Tab7 hand's down, but we both know it is not that easy. The fact is that we don't just buy the Kindle Fire for the tablet itself, we buy if, for better of for worse, because we use Amazon so much and love all the features that we get out of it.

 No matter what your choice is going to be, think it through carefully. Have a great day!

Kindle Fire HD vs Nook HD Review

 The Kindle Fire HD 7" and the Nook HD are both very popular low-end tablets which means that they are affordable, yet have solid performance when compared to their bigger relatives in the tablet industry. But which one is right for you? We will not turn this Kindle Fire HD vs Nook HD review into a flaming battle that has to have a winner, but we will realistically state the pros and cons of both devices and help you make a choice of your own. However, the choice may fall down on another question - do you prefer using Amazon or Barnes & Noble? If you are quite indifferent about the two brands and just want to get your hands on the better tablet, then our task will be a lot easier!

The Nook HD vs the Kindle Fire HD

The Display

 Let us start the comparison from the first thing that usually crosses our mind - the display screen. Both the Nook HD and the Kindle Fire HD 7" have a seven inch display screen and the same price. However, the Nook HD does offer a much higher resolution of 1440 x 900 pixels versus the Kindle HD's 1280 x 800 pixels. This means that the Nook HD has 243 pixels per inch which is better than its rival's 216 ppi. Although it does seem like a lot, there are still a lot of people who will barely notice the difference as Amazon has done other things to compensate and improve the visual quality that their tablet provides.

Storage Space

 Another very important thing for the average user is how much storage space they will be getting for their money. Amazon's Kindle Fire HD is certainly a winner here as the $199 models offers 16 GB while you can pay $249 for a 32 GB model as well. On the other hand, Barnes & Noble's Nook HD offers 8 GB for the standard model, or you can pay $249 for a 16 GB version.

Processor Power

 Tech fans are probably mostly interested in what these tablets offer under the hood, and the truth is that I believe that the Nook HD has a better kit running inside. This has been proven by many benchmarking websites who give the Nook HD more points over its rival. However, once again the difference is hard to spot for the average Joe. Why? the Kindle Fire HD sports a 1.2GHz dual-core TI Omap 4460 processor and dual-core PowerVR SGX540 graphics while its rival the Nook HD comes with a 1.3GHz dual-core TI Omap 4470 processor and dual-core PowerVR SGX544 graphics. Aside from a few higher number that the Nook has, most people don't really care about these specs and the truth is that the Nook doesn't score much higher than Amazon's best seven inch tablet.

The Camera

 I never really liked it when people use cameras on their tablet nor do I think they are really necessary. Perhaps the folks at B&N agree with me since their seven inch tablet does not feature a camera. The Kindle Fire HD, however, features 1.3 megapixel web camera on the front which is only slightly better than that on a Google Nexus 7.

Battery Life

 With this final comparison we will try to conclude our Kindle Fire HD vs Nook HD review. The tests show that the Kindle lasted for seven hours and 42 minutes while under the same circumstances he Nook HD  was able to endure five hours and 25 minutes. I don't know how much you guys care about this, but I am often forced to travel and my lifestyle always has me going places. Knowing that I have a device with a reliable battery life is something that I truly enjoy!

So what else should you consider? Well, both of these are family tablets and you kids will love them. If you are someone who uses Amazon a lot, or you don't mind starting, then the Kindle Fire HD is the superior choice. It may not be a better table in all aspects, but Amazon provides you with far more media content which included movies, audio, games, books and much more!

  If you are a student you can also get a $50 discount on the Amazon Kindle Fire HD 8.9" which is certainly the best choice that you can make as it will cost you $249! A real bargain to be honest, especially since you will also be able to enjoy Amazon Prime. Get the coupon here!

More reviews:

• The Kindle Fire HD 8.9" vs the Apple iPad 3
• The Amazon Kindle Fire HD 7" vs Kobo Arc