TechCrunch reports that a recent Pew Internet research project survey shows that 51% of US adult cell phone users used their phones within the last month to retrieve information they needed right away. It also reports on some of the differences between usage of cell phones and smart phones, and on the percentage of users who do things like take photos, send e-mail, play games, and so forth with the devices. (And 13% of respondents admitted to faking a phone call to avoid talking to someone physically present!) It is interesting to see smart phones being used as the...

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The Apple iPad will not kill the Kindle. In this installment of my Kindle shakedown series, I contend that the ideal ereader should not become a multipurpose device like the forthcoming iPad, or the HP Slate, or whatever comes next. It should instead become a fully dual-purpose device, with two screens dedicated for the two purposes of reading and writing. Some say the multipurpose iPad will kill the single-purpose Kindle. I disagree. This year I have discovered the joy of single-purpose devices. Most computers are multipurpose devices, designed to do everything but not always in the best way. I easily prefer...

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