“These two companies wanted to show the market that they would be competition to Amazon for the 2009 holiday season and now they have to face the consequences of that strategy and apologize to consumers for empty boxes under the tree,” said Forrester Research analyst Rotman Epps.

Analysts in general think electronic ink readers are the hottest devices this runup to the Christmas holidays, and it is Amazon who is most prepared, having enough Kindles so far fr the e-reader-craving public. The Digital EReader from Sony is out of stock as well.

The Barnes & Noble Nook is a dual-screen electronic ink reader, including a touchscreen colors LCD navigation, with WiFi and 3G and 24-hour continuous reading time. It sells for $259.

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The Nokia N900 has a 3.5-inch touchscreen, the famed Maeomo browser, 32GB of internal storage, WiFi. GPS and a slideout QWERTY.

[via engadget, phoyo from amazon]

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The processor maker has jumped into the handset market with the unveiling (leaking) of their very own QWERTY MID. It’s slightly underpowered compared to the AMD Super Mobile CPU-powered xpPhone. I’m comparing it to the xpPhone because the VIA MID will also feature telephony. Indeed, the slideout QWERTY and the tall form factor suggests this can be handy for calling. The mobile unit can run both Windows XP and Google Android at the same time could swith between the two depending on the function you want.

[via clonedinchina]

ITG has made a good thing with the xpPhone. It may not sell like the iPhone but the hard cold fact that it will run Windows XP when it comes out is enough to make you want to talk about it with almost anyone you meet. Yeah, it’s a phone but it’s a computer, too, a real one, with Windows XP. Got it? The makers are calling the xpPhone a breakthrough (cellphone, GPS, notebook), and with good reason. For a phone, the AMD AMD Super Mobile CPU and 1GB RAM (along with WiFi, 3G,5MP camera) may be a little too much, but what if it’s all under a pretty sleek hadrware and a price tag that though considerable will not exactly break the bank. Now Pocketables has it on good authority (apparently from the horse’s mouth) that ITG plans to release several versions–up to 7 inches in screen size and, possibly, a Windows 7 flavor. There will also be HDD versions (we believed they’d only come out with SSD ones) The price, starting at $500, will top at $700. Read on for the specs and options of the xpPhone.

[source]

[via cnet]

The Vega tablet runs on the latest Android 2.0 Eclair and packs an Nvidia Tegra processor under the hood. It also boasts of 1.3-megapixel camera, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, 3G connectivity, a microSD card for additional storage, 3.5mm jack, accelerometer, and a magnetic dock. The model above is features a 15.6-inch touchscreen, but there is a smaller 7-inch version as well.

It only comes with a resistive touchscreen though and lacks GPS, but its other specs should more or less make up for these minor drawbacks. No word on its pricing or availability yet, but rest assured, we’ll keep you guys posted once we get a hold of the necessary info.

[product, android france via engadget]

Google Android on a digital frame? The Japanese thought of the idea too. The 7-inch touchscreen device is actually a tablet PC with WiFi and a user-friendly interface. Meant to stay on your bedside table or the kitchen counter, the Hikari iTablet has an alarm clock and will display weather, news and other homely information like recipes. NTT Japan will be distributing it via NTT East and will sell for $220 to $330. Oddly enough, testers are sought but you’ll have to be a woman in your 20s. Come to think of it, I’d rather get a bigger touchscreen device with cable TV and TiVo. Video after the break.

[site via crunchgear]

One of our commenters, GuysFromQueens, recommends an app called Picsay Pro for Motorola Droid users who want multitouch on their phone. As you may know, Droid U.K., a.k.a. Milestone, does have multitouch. With the app mentioned above, the Droid could do pinch to zoom. Some of you may not mind too much not being able to pinch to zoom images on your Droid, but watching the video above, I’m convinced pinch and zoom is one of those things that once you have it you’ll quickly find yourself not being able to go without.

More videos at the link, including one about extending the Droid’s apparently dreadful battery life.

[source]

Joining the Motorola Droid in the Android 2.0 scene, Moto has just unveiled their new collection of Android-based MID products. Called the AMP, short for Android Media Platform, these are actually targeting developers who want a portable solution to test their Android wares out before unleashing them into the market. The only AMP version available right now comes with a 5-inch OLED capacitive touchscreen, 256MB NAND, front-facing 8-megpixel camera, WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1, OMAP3430 processor, and Android 2.0 as its OS with the option to upgrade to a 3G module. A smaller 3.5-inch variant and a heftier 10-inch tablet are currently in development. Price wasn’t mentioned, but if you seriously want to get one, just get in touch with them for more details.

[moto, oled-info via engadget]