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Aug
25
Reading Books on Your Blackberry - Ereader Apps
Filed Under Mobipocket, PDAs and Handhelds, eReader | 4 Comments
Blackberry owners who would like the capability to read ebooks on their Blackberry device have at least a couple of options. Whether you regard the Blackberry as your preferred ereader, or as a useful alternative to other ereaders in your ebook reading device arsenal, there are apps and online services available to you.
Mobipocket Reader and OTA Bookstore Access
Mobipocket.com offers its free Mobipocket Reader software for the Blackberry, as well as Over the Air (OTA) access to the Mobipocket bookstore via the Blackberry. Books can also be downloaded to the Blackberry user’s desktop PC (the Mobipocket Reader software for Windows Vixta and XP is also free).
The Mobipocket Reader allows the Blackberry user to select font styles and sizes, customize margins, select background colors, and make other custom choices for the ereading environment. Through the Mobipocket bookstore, the Blackberry user has access to thousands of books, book samples, and reviews.
Continue reading on ebooks on the Blackberry . . .
Aug
13
Amazon Kindle: The Buzz Goes On
Filed Under Kindle, News, Reader, Readius, e-Ink | Leave a Comment
The media buzz on the Amazon Kindle continues at mid-week, following a Citigroup analyst’s positive estimates of 2008 Kindle sales on Monday.
The Top Stocks Blog over at MSN Money staked out somewhat of a contrarian position. Under the headline, “Amazon’s Kindle unlikely to set world on fire,” the blogger noted that although some think the Kindle will have a first-year sales record comparable to that of the Apple iPod, “[o]thers believe it’s wishful thinking to assume John Grisham will ever be as popular as Jay-Z.”
After noting some features of the Amazon Kindle — ability to download books over the wireless Whispernet network, the glare-free screen and enlargeable screen fonts, the Top Stocks blogger held firm to the notion of print-and-paper books: “Doodling in the corners and turning the pages into a flipbook, alas, can still only be done in regular books.”
Aug
7
How Do the Amazon Kindle and the iRex Iliad Match Up?
Filed Under Kindle, Reviews, iRex Iliad | 1 Comment
SlashGear recently performed a side-by-side comparison of two ebook reading devices — the Amazon Kindle and the iRex Iliad.
Their verdict? Go with the Amazon Kindle, “[b]ecause it’s cheaper and does what it says it will do. Granted, there’s great room for improvement here, but the extended battery life and seamless use with Amazon.com make it the logical choice for those looking for an easy way to read on the go.”
The reviewer did appreciate some features of the iRex Iliad, such as a stylus that enables the user to make notations on book pages. However, the reviewer concluded, “[i]f it lived up to its promises, the iRex model would be a clear winner and perhaps worth the extra cash, but it’s not there yet.”
Aug
6
Amazon Kindle - Sony Reader Comparison
Filed Under Kindle, Reader, Reviews, Uncategorized, e-Book, ePub, eReader | Leave a Comment
A recent post at Blog Shop Review states a preference for the Amazon Kindle over the Sony Reader.
I have owned the first generation Sony Reader since last December, and read over twenty books on it, and just recently purchased the Kindle. While the Kindle is not perfect, it is superior to the Sony Reader in several meaningful ways that make it a far superior choice[.]
The first reason listed for the Kindle preference is available books: “[T]he number of books available for purchase for the Kindle is at least triple the number available from Sony.” (We have noted here at eReader Central that Sony did recently announce support for the EPUB format in the updated PRS-505 Reader, which serves to increase the number of ebooks that are compatible with that model of the Reader.)
In addition, the Blog Shop Review stated that with the Kindle, “[b]uying books is far easier; they are transferred directly to the Kindle without having to be downloaded first to a computer.” Other features listed as in the Kindle’s favor include screen contrast, available font sizes, the ease of changing pages, and the number of books that can be held in the device’s memory.
Aug
6
eReader.com has announced that the eReader 1.1 release is now available for iPhone and iPod Touch users.
With the release of the 1.1 version of eReader, iPhone and iPod Touch users are not limited to downloading materials from eReader.com and Fictionwise.com. Version 1.1 incorporates the capability to download PDB files from other web sites.
Other new features include the options to lock the screen’s orientation; to tap rather than swipe to turn pages; to select either a white or a black background; to turn off page animation; and to turn off full text justification.
Version 1.1 also provides users with the ability to sort the iPhone or iPod Touch bookshelf by author, title, or date of download.
eReader.com notes that more features will also be added in the pending release of eReader version 1.2.
Watch this demo to learn more about the features of eReader 1.1.
Aug
5
Plastic Logic Plans for Flexible Display Device
Filed Under Flexible Display, News | Leave a Comment
From VentureBeat comes news of the plans of Plastic Logic to introduce a flexible display device.
Thin, flexible display tech is one of those advances that has been just over the horizon since the Internet bubble started inflating. Remember the promises of e-paper — a crossbreed with the best qualities of both paper and computer screens, used as portable reading material? So far the best we’ve gotten is the Amazon Kindle, but Plastic Logic is hoping to change that, with a plan for commercialization next year.
Plastic Logic, spun off from Cambridge University in 2000, has been working for a long time on its technology, a semi-transparent sheet of tough plastic that can quickly create and erase static images (video is still a challenge). Electronic books, of course, are the obvious application, but there is also potential for signage, RFIDs, head-up displays (HUDs) and other gadgets.
The article indicates that Plastic Logic has plans to introduce a device with flexible display features in early 2009, “pitting it against E-Ink, Samsung, Panasonic and several other rivals who are working in a similar time frame.”
Aug
4
An Amazon Kindle - cellphone combo in the future?
Filed Under Kindle, News, e-Book, e-Ink, eReader | Leave a Comment
“Get set–though I don’t know when–for the era of e-reader/cellphone hybrids,” says TeleRead.
It’s difficult to predict who will win among competing display technlogies, the article says.
Who knows which display tech will be dominant? Or whether another company –Sony, or Apple maybe?–might beat Amazon to the marketplace with a full color equivalent of the Kindle blended in with a cellphone. It’s bound to happen, however.
Correctly, while discussing an extra £25 million that the U.K.-based Plastic Logic won in funding from Amadeus Capital Partners and others, PC Pro News noted the Kindle-related possibilities of flexible screens. Flex plastic would not just be more rugged but also lighter and cheaper, and the company says that phones, along with laptops, are another target beyond e-readers alone.
Aug
4
Amazon Kindle and the Textbook Market
Filed Under Kindle, News, eReader | Leave a Comment
A recent Crunchgear article noted the unit sales and revenue success for the Amazon Kindle (240,000 Kindle units have been sold, says TechCrunch), and suggested that the impact may be end up being particularly strong in the college textbook market.
Students are used to paying outrageous prices for textbooks. Even though the excuse “it’s the high cost of paper” wears thin rather quickly, students will always need texts. I’m sure future generations will hear “it’s the high cost of production” as the excuse for overpriced e-texts, but the fact remains students and texts go hand in hand. Just the simple luxury of not lugging around a heavy library should spark the market.
Jul
25
Ectaco jetBook Gets Accessorized
Filed Under News, e-Book, jetBook | Leave a Comment
The Ectaco jetBook - it’s not just for lovers of the color Burgundy anymore. PR News Now reports that the jetBook is being made available in a variety of colors, and with additional accessories:
As the release of jetBook has become a market success, Ectaco Inc. presents it in new colors. Now, in addition to the Burgundy edition there will be White, Gray and Graphite jetBooks. The line of jetBook accessories has also been extended by the Earlight (a spot-light device which allows reading in darkness with more comfort for the eyes) and the Silicon Sleeve (a skin-thin transparent dust protection cover). More accessories and colors are on the way . . . .
Jul
25
Amazon Kindle Demonstrates A Viable Market For Ebook Reading Devices
Filed Under Kindle, News, e-Book | Leave a Comment
Ebook devices are drawing worldwide attention. CIOL in India views the sales of these devices as driving demand (and vice versa):
Amazon.com’s Kindle has proven there is a viable market for eBooks with shipments expected to reach 1 million units in 2008, according to iSuppli.
“It’s possible that Amazon’s Kindle could do for eBooks what Apple’s iPod did for MP3 players,” said Vinita Jakhanwal, principal analyst for mobile displays at iSuppli. “Indeed, there are indications that Kindle sales in the first quarter of 2008 surpassed its total sales for the entire year of 2007.” Sales of eBooks will be propelled by demand from key markets, including:
* Education, including textbooks, reading and reference material, electronic dictionaries and organizers,
* Consumer markets, such as novels, magazines, guides and newspapers,
* Professional segments, including trade publications, manuals and product literature, and
* Other areas, such as government documentation, military maps and religious books and material.
Jul
25
Sony Reader Takes the Open Road
Filed Under News, Reader, e-Book, ePub, eReader | Leave a Comment
The Sony Reader is getting a lot of media buzz heading into the weekend, all resulting a Thursday announcement from Sony that its model PRS-505 Reader will be “the first eBook reading device to support the EPUB format, the International Digital Publishing Forum’s XML-based standard format for reflowable digital books and publications.”
Beginning in August, Sony continued, the PRS-505 “will be able to access and accept secure and non-secure ebooks in the EPUB format.” In addition the PRS-505 Reader “will support Adobe eBooks with digital rights management and have the capability to reflow standard text-based Portable Document Format (PDF) eBooks for improved flexibility and readability.”
Continue reading about the Sony PRS-505 Reader . . .
Jul
15
The Mobile Gadgeteer at ZDNet recently named his top 10 favorite applications for the the iPhone. The eReader app for using the iPhone as an ebook reading device is at the top of the list.
I am an ebook fan and have a Sony Reader that I think now may see a bit less usage with actual support for offline reading on the iPhone. I have been a Mobipocket user for years due to its ability to work across all mobile platforms, but eReader also has this support and it looks like I am now making the transition. This was made possible mostly by the fact that Fictionwise purchased eReader and now I can access all the books I have purchased over the years in eReader format at Fictionwise and any books I have purchased through eReader. You simply login on your iPhone with your username and password from either website to view your bookshelf and download the titles you want on your iPhone. Unfortunately, you can only download one title at a time so if you have a large library this may take a while.
To read a book you simply tap on the title in your Bookshelf and then flick across the page from right to left to turn the page or the other way to turn it back. You can also tap on the display to bring up four bottom icons for the Table of Contents, search function (two icons for this?), and font settings (3 fonts and 4 sizes). I hope to see more functionality brought to the iPhone such as bookmarks and auto scrolling. If you have a dictionary loaded you can also tap and hold on a word to look it up. Landscape mode is also supported by simply rotating your iPhone.