Posts Tagged ‘Ebooks’
Owen E1 Ereader Suits Dirty-Fingered Readers [EReaders]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 31st, 2009
Yet another ereader has floated face-up to the surface of the pool, with Owen's E1 being one of the smallest around. The screen is a small 5-inches (compared to say, the Kindle, which is 6-inches).
I don't know if you've noticed, but apart from COOL-ER's crazy-colorful models, most ereaders tend to be white for some inexplicable reason. It's nice to see Owen has given a thought to the dirty-digited, with this sensible black one.
Internally, specs sound basic, though it does have MP3 player functionality. As to whether it'll launch outside of China, that remains to be seen—but for now, let's just hope that the other manufacturers take inspiration from this daring non-white or silver model. [PMP Today]
Full Color Paradigm Shift Ereaders For Under $200 Shown Off Next Week at CES [EReaders]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 30th, 2009
At what point does a supposed ereader become a tablet? When it has a color screen for viewing photos and YouTube videos? Built-in MP3 player? Someone needs to have a quick word with Paradigm Shift's marketing department.
The company will be announcing two ereaders next week at CES, the 5-inch EER-051 and 7-inch EER-071WF. The first will have all the basic functions with 1GB of flash memory and an SD card slot, and the 7-inch model run on Windows CE, will be fully touchscreen, and Wi-Fi enabled. If you want to watch YouTube videos, chat to friends using E-Buddy and read Microsoft Word, Excel and PDF documents, this is the model for you. Internal memory is 2GB, but a microSD card slot will expand it further.
The 5-inch model will read ANSI, Unicode TXT, DOC, PDF, HTML, FB2, PDB and EPUB ebook formats, with the more capable 7-inch model a few more DRM-addled ebook formats.
Paradigm Shift is obviously keen to keep prices down on these two models, with the 5-inch EER-051 costing $150 (and coming in white, blue, periwinkle, pink, black and silver) and the 7-inch EER-071WF in just black and white for $200, on sale end of February. [Electronista]
Jeff Bezos on the Inevitable Obsolescence of Books [Blockquote]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 28th, 2009
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos tells Dan Lyons, aka FSJ, just how deep his "missionary zeal" for spreading the gospel of the Kindle runs: One day, it's going to kill books entirely. The full quote:
Lyons: Do you think that the ink-on-paper book will eventually go away?
Bezos: I do. I don't know how long it will take. You know, we love stories and we love narrative; we love to get lost in an author's world. That's not going to go away; that's going to thrive. But the physical book really has had a 500-year run. It's probably the most successful technology ever. It's hard to come up with things that have had a longer run. If Gutenberg were alive today, he would recognize the physical book and know how to operate it immediately. Given how much change there has been everywhere else, what's remarkable is how stable the book has been for so long. But no technology, not even one as elegant as the book, lasts forever.
Also, Bezos isn't afraid of the Apple tablet, even if it does do all that stuff everybody thinks it will, because the Kindle's so darn good at the book thing. A dedicated device for reading? Sounds like a shorter shelf life than books. [Slate]
Jeff Bezos on the Inevitable Obsolescence of Books [Blockquote]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 28th, 2009
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos tells Dan Lyons, aka FSJ, just how deep his "missionary zeal" for spreading the gospel of the Kindle runs: One day, it's going to kill books entirely. The full quote:
Lyons: Do you think that the ink-on-paper book will eventually go away?
Bezos: I do. I don't know how long it will take. You know, we love stories and we love narrative; we love to get lost in an author's world. That's not going to go away; that's going to thrive. But the physical book really has had a 500-year run. It's probably the most successful technology ever. It's hard to come up with things that have had a longer run. If Gutenberg were alive today, he would recognize the physical book and know how to operate it immediately. Given how much change there has been everywhere else, what's remarkable is how stable the book has been for so long. But no technology, not even one as elegant as the book, lasts forever.
Also, Bezos isn't afraid of the Apple tablet, even if it does do all that stuff everybody thinks it will, because the Kindle's so darn good at the book thing. A dedicated device for reading? Sounds like a shorter shelf life than books. [Slate]
Is Your Kindle Spying On You? (Yes.) [Ebooks]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 27th, 2009
If you don't want other people to know what you read, you probably shouldn't own an ereader. And you really shouldn't get a constantly connected Kindle or Nook, at least according to the EFF's eye-opening guide to ebook privacy.
The Kindle and Nook are tied to Amazon and Barnes & Noble's respective bookstores, meaning every purchase and every book search is recorded. Amazon's license agreement for the Kindle, for instance, notes that the Kindle's software "will provide Amazon with data about your Device and its interaction with the Service...and information related to the content on your Device and your use of it (such as automatic bookmarking of the last page read and content deletions from the Device)."
The Nook is obviously capable of phoning home in a similar manner, but it's unknown whether or not it does, at least for now. With Google Books, it's clear that what you're actually reading is logged, down to the specific page.
On the other hand, since Sony's Reader lacks 3G for a constant connection and isn't as tightly integrated with their ebook store, there's less opportunity for data collection, particularly if you stick w/ sideloaded books. Better still, says the EFF is the open-source FBReader. But you can't download books from anywhere in 3 seconds over 3G, and the experience isn't as nice.
It's the classic tradeoff: Less privacy for more convenience and a better experience, or greater privacy for a bigger hassle. What side are you on? [EFF]
Are B&N Nook Downloads Failing the Xmas Rush? [Ebooks]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 26th, 2009
I've got a bunch of complaints coming in about the Nook's e-book purchase servers being robust enough to take your money but the downloads are not going so well since new xmas owners came online. Any info, Nookers?
Sony Reader Daily Edition Starts Shipping, Adds More Newspapers [EReaders]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 22nd, 2009
Wall Street Journal and the New York Post not your favorite rags? Sony's signed up a couple dozen more newspapers for its Reader Daily Edition, with the New York Times, The Financial Times, and The Denver Post included.
Other regional papers, such as The Baltimore Sun, The Dallas Morning News, Los Angeles Times, Chicago Tribune, The Boston Globe, International Herald Tribune, The Providence Journal, The Washington Times, The New York Observer, The Salt Lake Tribune, The San Jose Mercury News, Barron's, The Christian Science Monitor, The Columbus Dispatch, Reason and the New York Review of Books will also be added shortly.
Even better—the Reader Daily Edition is now shipping to those who pre-ordered the ereader, though if you didn't lodge your interest with Sony previously, you'll have to wait until the 15th of January before you can get your hands on one. Pre-ordered and already received your ereader? Let us know how you're getting on with it. [PC Mag]
Rumor: Nook Update to Focus On Performance, Page Refresh Rates [Nook]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 20th, 2009
A "reliable" source has claimed at Engadget today that the Barnes & Noble Nook will soon be on the receiving end of a "major update." Updated.
The update will address many of the quirks users have experienced thus far with the new e-reader. Topping the alleged list are performance improvements and a faster page refresh rate, both of which Wilson identified in his mostly positive Nook review earlier this month.
Update: Our own tipster wrote to say that this is 100% confirmed, citing an announcement that was made on B&N's internal employee network. We may have some visual proof shortly. [Engadget]
Wall Street Journal and New York Post Confirmed For Sony Reader Daily Edition [SonyReader]
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Gadget News, Technology on December 18th, 2009
When Sony announced the Reader Daily Edition back in August, they hadn't confirmed which newspapers would be offered alongside the ebooks. It's just News Corp titles for now, with The Wall Street Journal and New York Post being confirmed.
A daily news summary will be on offer for WSJ readers, in addition to the digital version of the paper. The digital copy of the paper will sell punters back $14.99 a month, with the daily summary another $5, and the New York Post will cost $9.99 a month, exclusively sold on the Reader Daily Edition.
On sale sometime before 2010 (that's 13 days, then), it'll cost $399.99. [WSJ]
News Corp. to Sell Subscriptions on Sony Reader
Posted by: Gadget Boy in Technology on December 17th, 2009
