Recent Posts

• Amazon Kindle Touchpads

  In Devices

  Amazon Kindle ebook readers did used to be fairly static. Designed for just reading books, they had a few button controls. They were not back lit, which meant that they were suitable for using outside, unlike tablets which are difficult to see when the sun shines on the screen. They had black and white screens and cope manage basic pictures. However, they were limited in what they could do with just a 3G internet connection which was designed just to be used for downloading kindle books.

  

  The newer versions of Kindle have become rather more sophisticated though. Not only do they have touch screens, but the new Kindle Fire versions are also have coloured screens and can cope with sophisticated pictures. The Kindle Fire HD has surround sound, dual antenna for dual band Wi-F which makes downloading very fast. As well as being able to download ebooks, it is also able to download other apps such as games, magazines and other apps. It is even suitable for watching films and has free skype to skype calls courtesy of the front facing camera. There is even unlimited cloud storage for your Amazon content.

  Undoubtedly this is the best of the Kindle touchpads if you want to have more functions than just reading ebooks. However, the Kindle 3G does have free 3G access and so free book downloads so if you just want an ebook reader, this cheaper option could be better.

  One drawback of the Amazon Kindle readers is that the case that they need are expensive. For a basic reader that is not backlit, you need a lamp to read it in the dark. Some cases come with these included, but it is an additional expense to add on the the cost of the reader. The cases are due to be released in the UK on the 25^th October.

• Apps Guide for Beginners

  In Devices

  When you first get a touchpad device, if you have never had access to many apps before, then it can be extremely overwhelming. You might wonder why you would need all of these things and what you actually do with them.

  An app is just a piece of software that has been specially designed to work on a mobile phone, tablet or other similar device. It can include anything from games to music players, from photo editors to communication apps. It can be daunting looking at all of them and wondering if you need them and a different approach could be better.

  

  It might be better to think about what you would like to be able to do on your touchpad and then take a look at whether there is an app that can help. It is likely that there will be and you will be able to download it and try it out. The great thing about apps is that there are often more than one that do the same thing. This means that if you find that the one you download is not that good, you can download another one in its place and use it instead. All you have to do is to find the app you dislike in your app store and select uninstall, then find the one you want to try instead and install it. Of course, you can keep them both if you prefer.

  Apps do tend to have ratings and reviews within the app store and this can help you to make a decision when you are trying to decide which to choose. They sometimes will list them in ordre of popularity for you as well and this can help you to decide what to pick as if many people have downloaded it, then you can make the assumption that it is good.

• Finding Apps for Children

  In Applications

   More and more children are getting their own tablets or mobile phones and want to play the apps on there. If they do not have their own, they often pinch their parents and therefore it is often necessary to put some apps on there for them to use. There are lots of apps to choose from but it is necessary to find ones that are suitable for the children.

  There are a lot of children’s books and games that you can download. There are also other apps that they might find useful and fun as well. The difficulty is that sometimes it isn’t always easy to know what age they are suitable for. Some games are certainly not suitable for under 18′s whereas others would not appeal to a child older than a toddler.

  

  By reading the reviews you might get some idea as to what the game is about and what age it is suitable for. Some will tell you in the description as well. If you are not sure, then it can be worth playing it yourself, before allowing the child on it. You will get an idea as to whether it is something that they will enjoy as well as whether it is something that will appeal.

  There are some apps which will allow your child to log in and then only have access to things they are allowed to see. This can protect them from seeing unsuitable content and means that you do not have to restrict what you download, because they will not be able to see anything that you do not want them to.

  There is a nice selection of children’s apps available and so by spending a little time taking a look, you will be able to enjoy some great things with your child, not only extending their imagination but also their computer skills.

   

• How Much to Pay for an App?

  In Applications

  One great thing with modern touchpads is the amount of apps that come for it. You can find an app for almost anything you need to do. This can be really useful because you can do all sorts of things from play games to read books and do your banking.

  There are a good selection of free apps and when you first get your device, it is likley that these will be the ones that you will use. They can be really good, but some of them rather limited. You might be tempted to upgrade them in order to improve them or to buy apps which might be a bit better. However, how much is a good price to pay for an app?

  

  The price of apps tends to vary quite a lot. They can be free, less than £1 or anything up to £10 although this price is unusually high. Judging how much to pay for an app is very much like judging how much to pay for any item that you want to buy. You need to decide whether you think it will offer good value for money. Thnk about how useful or entertaining it will be and whether you are prepared to pay that much money for that feature.

  To start with you should read about the app and what it does and look for other apps that do a similar thing and compare them and their prices. Then you will find that mos app stores have a ranking for the apps and so you can take a look at what other customers think. Do not just look at their rating, but also the comments as negative rating may be due to a lack of features you do not need or problems that have been fixed with app updates.