The Amazon Kindle, for a while the prominent way to read e-books, it looking more and more archaic as the months pass. With Apple's release of the iPad, which has already sold well over 1 million units in a few short weeks, the Amazon Kindle, with it's colorless e-ink display, looks less and less like attractive in the age of tablet computers.
We now have reports that Google is working on an android powered tablet device with shall be released in the 3rd quarter of 2010. Basically, the Amazon Kindle is a one trick pony. Yes, the power sipping e-ink display has dual benefits of last a long time throughout heavy use and also being easy on the eyes, it costs nearly 60% of that of an iPad, thus Apple should definitely take market share away from those interested in the Kindle or other e-ink one trick ponies.
Amazon is surely aware of these problems, however, as they have a popular Amazon Kindle iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch application, which is designed to sell their books on a multitude of mediums.
In other words, just as we have seen with other technology (think the stand alone MP3 player), the Kindle is a stand alone book reader that does one think only. Apple's stand alone MP3 players do not exist anymore (other than the shuffle) with even the iPod classic model able to play video content. Therefore, Apple has even evolved.
Amazon is probably betting on the newest versions of improved e-ink displays which offer color screens and some web functionality, but again, these screens are slow, have poor viewing angles, and are NOT backlit.
We predict that Amazon's Kindle will not stand the test of time with the age of tablet computers here to stay.
One of the most famous martin guitars of all time is a sub-$200 travel friendly guitar that looks like a regular acoustic went through a sausage grinder. The Martin Steel-String Backpacker acoustic retails for only $170 bucks but has some fantastic features which maintain the high quality that Martin is quite well known for.
The Martin Backpacker's most unique feature is the carefully designed body, which is only as thick as the neck for the majority of it. Basically, after the sound hole the end of the guitar gets much wider to allow for good sound amplification.
Don't let the small size trick you though- this guitar is built of fine materials such as braced, solid tone wood top with a solid mahogany neck, back, and sides. Additionally, the guitar was built to withstand some serious abuse. The internal construction and design was meant to last years of serious abuse.
As for hardware, the guitar features classic chrome Martin tuners that hold the guitar in tune even after jamming out to campfire songs all night! The guitar itself weights less than 2.5 lbs. Includes a strap and gig bag as well.
Awesome guitar that at first, looks a bit strange but grows on you. This is the perfect guitar for someone who doesn't want to lug around a heavy guitar but still can practice with a full sized instrument. The Martin Backpacker does a great job of this and will provide years of good service.
The Martin 1- Series DC-1E Dreadnought Acoustic-Electric Guitar is a fantastic addition to the already impressive Martin acoustic-electric line. First, this guitar retails for approximately $1100. It is constructed out of fantastic woods- Sitka spruce top, Bookmatched Sapele back, and complimented by an East Indian Rosewood fretboard.
As usual Martin did an excellent job constructing this instrument which feel rock solid in the hands. It is important to note that Martin also went with the fantastic Fishman audio components for the electric portion of this guitar.
The reason that this guitar sound so good is that it is constructed from rare tonal woods which help the low ends resonate well while allowing tons of high end cut to shine through. If you have never played a Martin acoustic before, you are in for a real treat with the Martin 1-Series DC-1E Dreadnought. Basicaly, with this guitar Martin tried to make a lower cost alternative to some of the higher end guitars in their product lines.
Basically, when plugged in the DC-1E sounds great thanks in part to the Fishman electronics which accurately push the sound of this guitar.
Martin is no stranger to making acoustic guitars. The company was founded in 1833 and focuses on hand crafted internal support of high end woods which allow for amazing sound and rock solid, consistent performance. the Martin 1-Series DC-1E certainly doesn't suck, in fact, this guitar is pretty amazing.
Martin has done it again. By creating a small, stylish, and good sounding acoustic guitar that retails for UNDER $300, the Martin LXM series of acoustic guitars are quickly becoming a great choice for travelers, students, and those who have a bad habit of collecting cool guitars.
The Martin LXM Little Martin Acoustic comes in a few wood flavors: Natural, Koa, or Black. Each guitar is a modified 0-14 standard Martin Body at a 23" scale size. The guitar is the perfect size- not too small to feel like a toy, and light enough to travel with.
Martin's distinctive quality is present in all of the features of the Martin LXM Little Martin Acoustic. From the hand crafted wood and bindings to the playability and sound of the LXM, this is a great alternative to those who never really enjoyed the extremely thin look of the Martin Backpacker series.
As for sound, the small LXM actually produces some great full tones with good low end and Martin's great reverberation of low end sound. The guitar is excellent for soloing even in the higher frets and feels very well built. The guitar is so well built that there is absolutely nothing creeky at all when holding the Martin LXM. In fact, this guitar is completely solid. Another high score for Martin.
When choosing any Martinn guitar, never go with reviews alone- head to your local music store and pick up a guitar that interest you, regardless of the name on the headstock. Listen with your ears rather than your eyes and go for good sound and playability. Naturally obey the deepness of your pockets and check out the Martin LXM while you are there, it doesn't disappoint.
Retailing for around $99, the Boss TU-3 Chromatic Tuner comes under our watchful eye. Does it perform well and what are the prominent features?
First, the Boss TU-3 shares the same exact form factor as any standard Boss floor pedal and is built out of rugged yet lightweight diecast steel that will endure thousands of gigs and hard nights on the road. The Boss TU-3 has a very easy to ready tuning method and display that is made out of strobe lights on the front of the pedal with move left-right to guide your string into perfect pitch. Boss went out of their way to make this pedal stage friendly, as the large and easy to read display is easily read while many feet away and in dark places. The LED display is comprised out of 21 lights for precision tuning.
The Boss TU-3 features support for seven stringed instruments, flat tuning mode, tune by string mode, alternate tuning mode.
What is an added bonus of the Boss TU-3 is the fact that it also acts aas a DC power source and will daisy chain and support the powering of 6 other pedals. This comes in handy and makes good sense, since the Boss TU-3 pedal is usually placed at the beginning of your signal.
Does the Boss TU-3 Suck? Answer- no. The pedal is a standard in the live music industry and works quickly and effectively. What is perhaps the best feature of all is the bypass switch that allows you to cut any and all noise to your amp and just allow for silent tuning.
Every live player should get into the habit of retuning their instrument after each song on stage. The Boss TU-3 will easy allow for this.
