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Topics: App Store On September 27, 2005 Jon Rubinstein , Palm CEO and former Apple Vice President of the iPod Division, said Apple would be silly to get into the mobile handset marketplace: Is there a toaster that also knows how to brew coffee? There is no such combined device, because it would not make anything better than an individual toaster or coffee machine. It works the same way with the iPod, the digital camera or mobile phone: it is important to have specialized devices. We all know what’s happened since - Apple dominates the smartphone market while Palm struggles . But you gotta give them something, don’t you? So Palm, congratulations on finally crossing …

Internet retailer Amazon.com had all the luck in getting its family of proprietary Kindle e-book readers into the hands of consumers while its rivals were faced with delays, but its luck may have turned. The Kindle’s copyright protection has been hacked. An Israeli hacker who goes by the name Labba says he has been able to break the Kindle’s digital-rights management protection, allowing its electronic books to be viewed on non-Kindle devices. A U.S. hacker has also reportedly created a program called Unswindle that converts books stored in the free Kindle for PC application into other formats. DRM prevents making copies…

Ross Rubin ( @rossrubin ) contributes Switched On , a column about consumer technology. As it often does at its product introductions, Apple took a subtle swipe at the Flip camcorder when it introduced the video camera-equipped iPod nano this fall. The sales volumes of the iPod nano even caused some to proclaim Apple’s revision of the most popular iPod to be a Flip-killer. The inexpensive Flip camcorder has long proven tenacious, however, fending off competition from major brands such as Sony and Kodak, as well as value players like Aiptek and DXG — not to mention nearly every digital camera and cellphone that can shoot video. Besides, the iPod nano has outsold …

Welcome to the Engadget Holiday Gift Guide ! The team here is well aware of the heartbreaking difficulties of the seasonal shopping experience, and we want to help you sort through the trash and come up with the treasures this year. Below is today’s bevy of hand curated picks, and you can head back to the Gift Guide hub to see the rest of the product guides as they’re added throughout the holiday season. Digital cameras are the bread-and-butter of holiday gadget giving — everyone wants one, and everyone wants a better one. But you can’t just dole out any shooter you can find — you need to find the right balance of image quality, features, and usability for your intended recipient, and hold the line on…

Incredulously enough, no other major camera maker has come out and mimicked Samsung’s front-facing LCD approach found on the TL225 (or ST550 in some areas), so if you’re in the market, it’s either this one or the lesser-specced TL220 (ST500). If you’re considering picking up the former as a bang-up gift for your special someone, you’d probably do yourself a solid by taking a peek at a few reviews around the web. The long and short of it is this: the camera’s dual LCDs are well implemented, and they actually do come in handy for those looking to handle the…

Western Digital plopped itself firmly in the midst of the 2TB HDD battle back in early September , and if you’ve been holding off on buying your next slab of storage until the benchmarks hit, we’re pleased to inform you that the wait is over. The crew over at Hot Hardware slapped both the Caviar Black and RE4 drives into their testing rigs in order to put ‘em both through their respective paces. Without getting into the nitty-gritty, both of the 7200RPM drives were mighty quick in real-world use — not SSD quick, mind you, but pretty darn snappy given the capaciousness. When push came to shove, the Caviar Black managed to pull ahead …

We’ve been wondering what a Lalaized iTunes would look like, and we weren’t too far off: The WSJ says iTunes is evolving into a web-centric model, making the biggest music store in the world that much more powerful. You won’t need software anymore to buy songs from iTunes. iTunes will just be on the web—you’ll be able to buy and listen directly, through search engines or other sites, much like you can with Lala now. Or if you’re not familiar with it, think about the way Amazon is embedded on the internet, and imagine that for music, through iTunes. It’s a kind of ubiquity would make the…

In a move that could help counter the instant gratification valley that currently separates online shopping from heading to the local retailer, Amazon is pushing a “limited time offer” called Disc+ On Demand that pairs 300 or so of its movies with a free Amazon VOD copy. That digital version pops into the buyer’s Video Library instantly after purchase and still has to play by all the usual video on-demand rules of 24 hr / 30 day windows, U.S. address, and is currently only available in standard-definition. Still, this combination of the digital and physical purchase worlds means the online giant has beaten …

Talking to a camera nerd—or even reading about new cameras—can feel like translating from a different language. But it doesn’t need to! Here, in this here post , is everything you need to know about cameras, without the noise. When you buy a camera, you’ll be pelted with specs from a salesperson, many of which are confusing, and even misleading. You will cower, and may cover your head for protection. He will keep pelting. And really, he has to—spec sheets and jargon are integral to camera marketing, at least for now. Here’s what it all means, in one handy cheat sheet. Types …

On the eve of AOL’s official reemergence as an independently-traded company (although in reality its shares are already trading), CEO Tim Armstrong gives CNBC’s Julia Boorstin a lengthy interview on his message to investors and where he hopes to take AOL. He is fully aware that cost-cutting is only going to take AOL so far and he that investors are concerned whether the “newer business [is] gonna be able to overtake the declining business.” But he thinks it is just a matter of execution and promises to show investors the “metrics,” “changes,” and “great products and services” which will drive…