After Nook Announcement, Amazon Drops Price of Kindle to $189

That was fast. Hours after Barnes & Noble introduced a Wi-Fi only version of its Nook e-reader and dropped the price of its 3G device to $199, Amazon responded by dropping the price of its Kindle e-book reader from $259 to $189.Amazon's Web site has been updated, and the cheaper version of the Kindle is for sale now. The Kindle DX is still priced at $489.Amazon said that customers who bought a Kindle that was shipped in the last 30 days are eligible to receive the price difference as a credit.The discounted Kindle e-book can hold up to 1,500 books, includes 3G capabilities, and includes a six-inch E Ink screen.The Kindle is also sold at brick-and-mortar Target stores, though there was no mention of Target in the price-drop announcement. We e-mailed Target to confirm.

MediaConnect Brings Minority Report To Your Living Room

We seem to be edging ever closer to the world we saw in the movie Minority Report: three companies have announced a new partnership aimed at getting gesture-based navigation into our home entertainment systems. Softkinetic's iisu gesture recognition software and Optrima's OprtiCam work in combination with Meterological's MediasConnect TV system to change the way people interact with their televisions. Instead of punching buttons on a remote control, users can control their television using hand gestures or optional voice recognition.

MediaConnect may sound familiar to gamers, as many of the features and capabilities of the system sound very similar to Microsoft's Kinect for Xbox 360, which was announced at last week's E3 conference. SoftKinetic is led by Mike Nichols, the former executive producer for Microsoft Kinect. However, this system promises to have a lower cost of entry as it may be available as part of a subscription service program offered by cable or satellite television providers.

The new MediaConnect TV will be available in Europe within the next few weeks and should be available in the US later this year. Software development kits will also be available this fall, allowing developers to create games and other interactive applications, such as video conferencing, that are compatible with the system.

Short-Throw Projectors Fill the Screen from Up Close

A new breed of projectors with short-throw capabilities lets your laptop and projector remain close to the screen rather than back in the audience. With a short-throw projector, it's harder to cast your shadow on the screen or for the audience to trip over cables or for restless students to jostle a projector cart. With a price premium of as little as 15% over a comparable normal throw projector, short- and ultra-short projectors now make up almost one in five projector sales. Classrooms are the primary drivers for short-throw projectors, along with businesses and gamers.

Hard Case Keeps Your iPad Safe On the Job Site

If you have an Apple iPad, chances are you either have or are looking for a case to protect it. There are plenty of options out there, but the available choices generally skew toward business professionals and fashion-conscious hipsters, not folks who might actually work for a living.

Enter the Hard Case for iPad. The simple, no-frills name describes the product well. On the outside, it looks like the rugged clipboards that many contractors carry, with a tough exterior and plenty of room inside for receipts, completed bids, and small supplies.

The Hard Case has another interior compartment under the paper tray that has a special cutout for the iPad. The device is surrounded on all sides (including the top) by high density polyurethane foam. It has strong claps to prevent accidental opening and the back has non-skid strips on the back so that it won't damage furniture or slide off a table. And since it doesn't look like a valuable tablet computer, the Hard Case serves as a theft deterrent as well. Who would steal what appears to be a regular old clipboard?

The Hard Case for iPad is now available for preorder for $49.95 and is expected to start shipping by the end of the week.