Tech

This week Taylor Swift launched her brand-new iPhone app, and while it's got tons of cool features, the best part about it is that it's free.

Many other celebrity apps cost money, so the fact that Tay is offering hers up at no cost is yet another reason why the 20-year-old singer is so beloved by her fans.

In addition to being able to score new music, videos and photos, users will be able to access Taylor's tweets, post messages on a fan wall and connect to their Facebook and Twitter pages with the app.

There are dozens of things to check out on the application, but our favorite feature is the tour dates page, which uses your current location to show you all the upcoming concerts in your area. You can even see a list of shows that have already happened.

Sure, you can access a lot more media on Taylor's official website, but her free app is perfect for on-the-go updates. Not only can you download news from Taylor while you're away from your computer, but you can also upload your own fan photos and comments with your device. Taylor's app is available on iTunes now.

There's the Kindle, the Nook, the iPad and now...the DSi XL. This month, Nintendo will release a new handheld in its DS series, which promises an enhanced gaming experience and can double as an e-reader. The DSi XL will be available on March 28 for $189.99.

The DSi XL will come with e-reader software that will allow gamers to read using book cartridges. The first book collection, '100 Classic Books,' will feature works from William Shakespeare, Mark Twain and more, and will be available in June.

According to Bloomberg, Nintendo is not trying to compete with other e-readers. Although the DSi XL's two 4.2-inch screens and already has a book-like shape, the overall book selection for the handheld will be limited. "It's just one more way to enjoy your device," says Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo's vice president of sales and marketing.

With Wal-mart's purchase of movie rental company Vudu, Blockbuster's competition is getting stiff. The chain, which has physical rental locations all around the country, announced last week that it will be shutting down more stores, and with Vudu and Netflix taking over the market, Blockbuster could be in danger of going out of business.

However, while Netflix, Red Box and Vudu are duking it out to be the best movie rental company, Blockbuster is currently the only one of the four that offers video game rentals in addition to movies. Could that service be its saving grace?

Blockbuster offers a ton of games for the XBox 360, Playstation and Wii. while Netflix, Red Box and Vudu haven't tapped into the video game market yet. But when sites like Gamefly are focused solely on video game rentals, Blockbuster may be left in a gray area where it can't compete in either movies or games.

Texting without a phone? Yup. The TextPlus app for the iPod touch lets you send free and unlimited text messages to your friends using a Wi-Fi connection.

The TextPlus app is free to download and free to use for the iPod touch. The best part is that these messages can be sent to any cell phone. Your friends do not need to have this app on their cell phone in order for them to receive your messages. They will appear as a regular text message. However, if you are sending them to another iPod touch, then that person will need the TextPlus app installed on their device.

The only problem with sending messages to someone without the app is that your friend will see an incoming message with a strange phone number and your name attached to it.

If you are using some other app on your iPod touch or iPhone, that app will pause and TextPlus will notify you that you have received a message. You can choose to resume the app you were using or respond to your message.

Listen up, textperts. Whether you've got your go-to text abbreviations down and want to beef up your game, or you need a secret tool that will get you in the know ASAP, the OMG! Texting Dictionary iPhone app has just what you need.

Sure, you and your BFFs are all over LOL and ILY, but this app offers up thousands of text abbreviations that can open up a whole new world for faster and shorter messages.

What else? It also serves as a resource for when you have no idea what your friend is saying. The app allows you to search for definitions by alphabetical order so you can decode on the go.

Another awesome feature about the OMG! app is that you can share your favorite terms on Facebook or Twitter. This way, all of your friends can add the abbreviations to their text arsenals, and you'll all be on the same page.

Everyone is buzzing about Apple's iPad, but at $499 to start, it's not exactly a cheap gadget to own. Enter Sony's Dash, a "personal Internet viewer" on which you can stream web content through over 1,500 Sony Bravia apps, but with a $199 price tag.

The Dash has a 7-inch color touch screen that you can use upright or tilted to stream music videos, TV or movies on-demand. Sony's recent big announcement is that users will also be able to stream Netflix on the device. That means you can check out any movie or TV show in your "watch instantly" queue using the new application.

The idea is that you can access Internet content without having to log onto your computer. But much like the new HDTVs that can surf the web, we don't see the need for this gizmo.