Late yesterday and without so much as a well timed press release, mega-giant seller of all things on the Internet (aka Amazon.com) released the first Kindle application for the Mac. The free application works on Intel Macs running Mac OS X 10.5 and above, and is version number of 1.0.0 beta 1.

The app allows you to download Kindle books you already own and read them on your Mac. In addition, and this is a nice feature, your progress through a particular book is kept synchronized between the application, your iPhone and your Kindle. This is especially great for people like myself who often take their Kindle somewhere but not a Mac. Although, in truth, I usually take both.

The application is defiantly of the simple variety and doesn’t really offer much in the way of bells and whistles. Although, what do you really need? It allows you to read your books on your Mac, adjust the size of the fonts and it keeps track of where you stopped so you can pick the book up later on another device. Plus, did I mention it costs nothing?

This is a great step in the right direction for Amazon. It is a shame that non-Intel Mac users and those not running Leopard or better can’t enjoy the app. But given the way things are moving, maybe those people are going to go ahead and upgrade themselves with a shiny new iPad instead? Hey, with over 150K pre-orders so far, it’s a real possibility.

Speaking of the iPad. I ordered one and will have a full review once its in my hands. Until then, try out this new app from Amazon right here.

It’s Tuesday so that must mean it’s a day for lawsuits, at least where Apple, Inc. is concerned. Case in point, our favorite fruit flavored technology company is suing hardware maker HTC for infringement of 20 patents concerning the iPhone user interface and its hardware and architecture. The lawsuit was filed with the U.S. International Trade Comission and in the U.S. District Court of Deleware.

Steve Jobs himself had this to say about the lawsuit: “We can sit by and watch competitors steal our patented inventions, or we can do something about it. We’ve decided to do something about it,” said Jobs. “We think competition is healthy, but competitors should create their own original technology, not steal ours.” Yeah, he seems a bit miffed about the whole thing.

Although the Google Nexus One is not mentioned specifically in the lawsuit and HTC does make several other Android handsets, some could argue the touchscreen models interface does look quite a bit like the iPhone’s. Still, “quite a bit” does not necessarily a lawsuit make. Could it just be a bit of posturing to warn others away from trying to steal Apple’s ideas or to slow down the progress Android is making in the marketplace? Maybe.

Apple has the right to defend it’s ideas and the cash to try and punish those it deems responsible for stealing said ideas. However, I was kinda hoping to get my hands on a Nexus One when it is released for Verizon. I hope this lawsuit doesn’t hold that up. Neither HTC nor Google has issued a statement yet concerning the lawsuit.

The number one seller of DVDs in the country, Wal-Mart, has apparently seen the writing on the wall and is again getting into online distribution of movies and other video content by purchasing Vudu, the four-year-old-company that has deals with every major movie studio and 40 independents. According to the article, Wal-Mart is paying an undisclosed sum for Vudu, which abandoned its hardware business a few years ago and instead is focusing on software embedded in millions of televisions.

As you may know, Wal-Mart has tried this kind of thing before. In February 2007, it announced it was becoming the first major retailer to offer digital movie downloads. Sadly, that didn’t work out so well with the company shuttering the business in the first year. Wal-Mart also launched a by-mail DVD service to compete with Netflix, but gave up on that as well when it partnered with Netflix later.

Now, with Vudu, Wal-Mart competes not only with iTunes and Netflix but also with Blockbuster, TiVo, Amazon and others that allow consumers to rent or buy movies digitally. Vudu currently has 20,000 titles in its library, 3,000 of which are in HD or HDX, a proprietary format Vudu says is comparable in quality to Blu-ray.

Having only seen Vudu in stores and at trade events, I can’t really vouch for the quality of the video. It just seemed okay. Plus, this seems a little late to the game what with iTunes and Netflix already having a large foothold into the living room. Still, Wal-Mart is a giant retailer with years of experience growing a successful business so it will be interesting to see how they utilize this latest acquisition.

Today, the mobile phone landscape has changed quite a bit because soon you’ll be able to make calls via Skype using your Verizon Wireless cell phone. The two companies announced their “strategic relationship” at the 2010 Mobile World Congress in Barcelona.

The new Skype mobile product enhances Verizon Wireless’ smartphones for users who have data plans by offering a new way to call around the globe, while also giving hundreds of millions of Skype users around the world the opportunity to communicate with friends, family and business colleagues in the United States using Verizon Wireless.

Here are the highlights of this new partnership:

• Users with a data plan can make and receive unlimited Skype-to-Skype voice calls to any Skype user around the world.

• Calls to international phone numbers, if made through Skype mobile, will be at the Skype Out calling rate.

• Users can send and receive instant messages to other Skype users and remain connected to see friends’ online statuses.

The rollout for Skype mobile will comprehensive and coming to existing phones like the BlackBerry Storm, the Storm 2, the BlackBerry Curve, the BlackBerry Tour, the Motorola DROID, the HTC DROID ERIS and the Motorola DEVOUR.

If you have one of those phones and a 3G data plan, you’ll be able to start using Skype mobile when it goes live in March. See AT&T, that wasn’t so hard.

Responding to rather vocal criticism from much of the online community, Google is making adjustments to its two-day-old Google Buzz service to enhance, and enable users to more easily manage, privacy. Buzz, as it currently exists, was to be Google’s answer to Twitter and Facebook with a dash of FriendFeed thrown in, but so far it seems off to a somewhat rocky start — at least when it comes to user privacy concerns.

The changes, to be implemented later today, include:

• More visible option to not show followers/people you follow on your public profile
• Ability to block anyone who starts following you
• More clarity on which of your followers/people you follow can appear on your public profile

These changes will hopefully help users feel more comfortable with the service. I, for one, turned it off due to concerns that my contact list was being viewed by anyone who follows me, regardless if they are someone I know. With these new privacy features, let’s hope Google gets Buzz going in the right direction again.

Do you use Buzz? Or, is it something you’re not interested in? Let us know in the comments.

During a special event today at Google Headquarters in Mountain View, CA, the search giant unveiled its new Google Buzz approach to sharing and several new features designed to enhance its Gmail service and bring it more in line with other mainstream social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter.

Google Buzz, which works inside the Gmail interface, includes the following features:

• Auto-following. We didn’t want users to have to peck out a totally new social graph. There has always been a giant social network under Gmail.

• Rich, fast sharing experience. Same nice Gmail UI and keyboard shortcuts. Special attention to media.

• Public and private sharing. We want things Google can index, but also private messages.

• Inbox integration. The inbox is the center for communication.

• Just the good stuff. Some much social data, we need to filter the noise.

• Go to google.com on your iPhone or Android phone web browser.

• New application for Buzz.

• Update to Google Maps for mobiles. Android, Windows Mobile and Symbian today

According to Google, they will be rolling out the starting today so keep an eye out. One question to consider, though, is if Google’s answer to social networking will actually be successful or not? As someone who uses Twitter and Facebook daily but has less time for something like Friendfeed (which Buzz is similar to) I wonder if users will take to these new features or not.

Also, if you’re interested, there’s a video produced by Google that explains Buzz a bit more after the jump.

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Today, the Apple Store went down, as it often does, and amid speculation that new core i5 and i7 MacBook Pros would be announced, when the store came back Apple instead dropped a comprehensive update of Aperture, its flagship image editing software, on us. The latest version, cleverly dubbed Aperture 3, brings many of the features users love from iPhoto ‘09 and adds them to Aperture’s new, improved software set and tools.

According to Apple, the latest version of Aperture includes over 200 new features such as:

• Organization using Faces and Places
• Brand new Brushes that let you paint effects on images,
• Full 64-bit support for Snow Leopard
• Improved image adjustments with more “fine tuning”
• Facebook and Flickr uploading

Apple has a free 30-day trial or you can buy the latest version for U.S. $199.00, and upgrades are available for any existing Aperture users for U.S. $99.00.

There’s no denying Twitter’s popularity. It’s everywhere and many people use it all day, every day. So, if you need to Tweet while on the go, you need an smartphone with a Twitter app on it. The iPhone has several, with Tweetie and Twitterific probably being the most popular.

That’s great, but what if you’re using a cool Android powered smartphone like Verizon’s DROID? Fortunately, there’s a app for you too in the form of Seesmic. And now, the folks who make Seesmic have updated their app with some cool new features.

Among the new features are multiple account support with cross-posting, extra large font size, auto-correction of typing, automatic profile updates, on device twitter password management and optional timeline position memory so you jump back to the last tweets that you were reading.

The latest version of Seesmic is available now for free from the Android Market. If you check it out, be sure to come back and let us know how it compares to other Android Twitter apps like Twidroid and Tweetcaster.

If you’re one of the many, many people currently using Apple’s iPhone 3G or 3GS, you’re in for a treat very soon because your beloved devices are getting another OS update to version 4.0. According to an article over at Boy Genius Report, details are now coming out about just what enhancements and features iPhone OS 4.0 will have.

Obviously, there is some speculation here but the OS is reported to include the following:

• There will be multi-touch gestures OS-wide. (Would make sense for that as the rumored OS for the iTablet is close if not the same as the iPhone)

• “A few new ways” to run applications in the background — multitasking.

• Many graphical and UI changes to make navigating through the OS easier and more efficient.

• The update will supposedly be available for only the iPhone 3G and 3GS, but will “put them ahead in the smartphone market because it will make them more like full-fledged computers” more than any other phone to date.

• Some brand new syncing ability for the contacts and calendar applications.

So there you have it. Who says you need a Google Nexus One?

By way of its Inside BlackBerry blog, RIM has put the world on notice — BlackBerry Desktop Manager is coming to OS X in September. Yes, its finally happening after many, many years. I know you never thought it would happen but it is. We had our doubts also but glad they were finally put to rest.

Here’s some highlights of the new features:

* Sync your iTunes playlists, calendars, contacts, notes and tasks.

* Add/Remove applications.

* Update your device when new software becomes available.

* Backup and restore your device data with such features like automatically scheduled backups and optional encryption.

* Manage multiple devices.

When this software finally comes out at least Mac users finally won’t have to resort to less-than-perfect solutions to sync their Blackberry with their Mac. Make sure to check out www.blackberry.com/mac and sign up to get notified when the software is available, and stay tuned for more info on this software as we get closer to the release date.