Kindle for the iPhone/iPod and iPad has been updated: ...

From the App Store: iBooks 1.5 adds the following new features as well as some stability and performance improvements:• Nighttime reading theme makes reading books in the dark easier on the eyes.• Full-screen layout lets you focus on the words without distraction.• iBooks now features an improved selection of fonts, including Athelas, Charter, Iowan, and Seravek.• Beautiful new classic covers for public domain books.• A redesigned annotation palette makes it easier to choose a color for your highlighted text. ...

Ten years ago, the original iPod came out, changing Apple inexorably from a snooty little computer company whose best days were seemingly long behind it to one of the greatest powerhouses of the consumer electronics industry. Today it seems likely Apple is going to kill off the last vestige of that original hard-drive-and-music-player-only device. Yesterday Gizmodo took a look at some of the complaints and erroneous predictions of low sales surrounding the original device, and pointed out a CNet review by Elliot Van Buskirk predicting that descendants of the iPod might replace the PC. The funny thing is,...

On CNet, Donald Ball surveys a number of suggestions for what Apple can do to improve the iPod Touch, Apple’s “forgotten” iOS product. I’ve long held that the iPod Touch is Apple’s true “game-changer”. Maybe it doesn’t get as much press as the flashier iPhone and iPad, but it’s essentially a phoneless iPhone, containing most of the desirable features without the obnoxiously expensive contract. I have an 8GB 1st-gen iPod Touch that continues to be very useful for many purposes—I can whip it out to check my email anywhere there’s wifi, even if I don’t have my laptop or iPad on me,...

The latest chapter in the saga of patent troll Lodsys has come to light today. Despite having been told by Apple that it did not have grounds to sue developers for infringement, based on those developers' use of Apple’s in-app purchasing technology, Lodsys decided to go ahead and file lawsuits against seven developers. It actually filed three days ahead of its original deadline, in response to what it characterized as "Apple's threat." Not surprisingly, Lodsys claims that Apple has it wrong when it says that Apple's own agreement with Lodsys should cover those third-party developers: ...

For anyone looking for a highly pocketable ereader, Woot is selling a refurbished 8GB iPod Touch (current generation) for $170.  Aside from the locked-in iBookstore, the Touch can use apps for the Kindle, Nook, Kobo and others as an excellent ereader.  I read on my iPhone all the time and it shares the same Retina display as the Touch...

Here’s What’s Included in Today’s Update (via OverDrive Blogs): OverDrive Media Console for Android (v2.2) Sepia display option for eBooks Screen-dimming override for eBooks Faster EPUB performance Sleep timer for audiobooks OverDrive Media Console for iPhone/iPad (v2.2.1) Orientation lock for eBooks Night mode and sepia display option for eBooks Screen lock override for eBooks Improved range of font size settings In-app library “Website Finder” Via INFOdocket.com ...

Oregon school kids really seem to like iPod Touches (or should that be “iPods Touch”?). Two different, unrelated projects have come to light over the last few months using them to boost kids’ reading abilities. In the Canby School District, every third and fourth grade student has been issued an iPod Touch, which they use for reading and math exercises. Reports are that they do so quite well, too: In presentations, [district technology coordinator Joseph] Morelock has shown that several classrooms using the iPod touches generated better test scores than the district average. He...

On our sister blog Appletell, Charles Moore has a great article on why buying refurbished goods from Apple is actually a pretty good idea. I’ve long suspected this—I got my first iPod Touch as an Apple refurb—but it’s interesting to see it fully explained. Moore explains that refurbished products actually go through a more extensive quality testing process than new units before being offered for sale, and come with the same one year warranty and AppleCare eligibility as new units. The only real difference is that it’s cheaper and sometimes an older generation of hardware. (In fact, refurbished is...

Editor's Note: the comment below, by iOS developer Rachel Blackman, was posted in response to Joanna's article in which she expressed her frustration about purchasing an iPhone app and then being charged again for the app on the iPad. I thought it important enough to reprint as a main article as we don't often get a chance to hear directly from people in the industry. PB As an iOS developer for my day job and an avid reader in whatever moments I can steal with a book, I can sort of see this one both ways. The truth of...

At TechCrunch, Alexia Tsotsis posts an interesting meditation on how tricky most household appliance interfaces have become. Coffee makers, microwave ovens, even pepper grinders have become much more complex than they used to be—sometimes hilariously so: Many people received iPads and iPhones this Christmas, and because of Apple’s legendary intuitive and straightforward design, could pull them right out of the box and commence using. Not the case with a battery powered pepper grinder one of my relatives received at our gift exchange. It took three people to put together and when we did get it to...

PC Magazine reports that Apple is having another 1-day Black Friday event. The blurb on Apple’s site is not very specific, but does promise “dozens of great iPad, iPod, and Mac gifts for everyone on your list.” Last year’s sale included discounts on iMacs and MacBook Pros, and $21 to $41 markdowns on the iPod Touch. The iPad wasn’t around last year, but may well get similar markdowns this year—especially given that Apple will want to clear out inventory to make room for its next-generation launch next year. (I wonder if Apple took this season into consideration when it...