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Kobo’s new ereaders include its first with color displays
Rakuten has a trio of new Kobo ereaders, including the company’s first two with color displays. On Wednesday, the company revealed the $220 Kobo Libra Colour and $150 Clara Colour alongside the monochrome $130 Clara BW.
E-book library app OverDrive is shutting down on May 1st
OverDrive, the service you can use to borrow ebooks, audiobooks and other digital media from your local library, school or university, is shutting down.
Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite Kids falls back to an all-time low
Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite Kids is on sale with the biggest discounts we've seen yet, letting you grab one for just $105 or $55 (34 percent) off the regular price.
Amazon's Kindle Paperwhite now comes in two new colors
Kindle's Paperwhite 5 launched in 2021, but Amazon has just spruced up the models a bit with a couple of new colors.
Amazon's Kindle will finally add ePub support
Amazon’s e-reader will support the ePub format.
Amazon's Kindle and Fire tablet sale offers savings of up to 45 percent
Amazon has launched a sale on both Fire HD tablets and Kindle devices, with most items at the second-best prices we've seen so far.
Kobo's Libra 2 e-reader is $20 off right now
Kobo's Libra 2 eReader is on sale for $160, the first good discount we've seen on it.
Amazon's new Kindle Paperwhites have bigger, brighter screens and USB-C charging
The Signature Edition is the first Kindle with wireless charging support.
Kobo's 10.3-inch Elipsa is the company's biggest e-reader to date
It's the largest e-reader Kobo has made to date.
Amazon discounts the Kindle Paperwhite to $85 for Black Friday
Amazon's excellent Kindle Paperwhite e-reader is only $85 for Black Friday.
Twelve years later, how do you feel about the first Kindle?
This past Tuesday marked the 12-year anniversary of the first Amazon Kindle, which was praised at the time as an evolutionary step forward for e-readers thanks to its high-contrast screen, SD slot and built-in 3G or WiFi. However, now it just seems clunky and cluttered in comparison to this year's minimalist, streamlined version.
Amazon Kindle review (2019): The Paperwhite gets a run for its money
Like many gadgets, the Kindle line follows the "good, better, best" marketing strategy. A few years ago, this would mean the difference between features like a touchscreen, better contrast on the display or a much-needed front-lit screen. Today, the distinctions between Kindle models are subtler. When Amazon recently announced that the "All-New Kindle" (that's the basic, non-Paperwhite, non-Oasis model) would come with a front-lit screen, the last big deal-breaker for the most basic e-reader was finally dissolved (unless waterproofing is a must have). For less than $90 (with "special offers"), there's finally a Kindle you can read in the dark, that has a touchscreen, and supports Audible over Bluetooth. I'd wager that for a large slice of Kindle readers, the reasons to spend extra on a Paperwhite are getting more specific.
Kindle Paperwhite review (2018): A classic, updated
Until now, the Kindle Paperwhite had three mortal enemies: water, airplane seatback pockets (just me that keeps leaving them on planes?) and book snobs. While there's no hope for the latter, one of those issues isn't long for this world, as this year's model is now waterproof. For lovers of audiobooks, there's more good news: Amazon added Bluetooth so you can listen on the go. Owners of older Kindles may remember there used to be a headphone jack; this is 2018, though, so forget about that and embrace the future. This at least means the Paperwhite is no longer the odd one out when it comes to an audio option. (The base Kindle and Oasis both already have Bluetooth.)
Kindle for Android gets split-screen now, Notification Center soon
Despite having an app simply ripe for multitasking as users pull up extra info related to the books they're reading, Amazon's Kindle app is just now delivering support for Android's split-screen viewing feature. It added support for split view on the iPad back in March, but with this update all of your Android 7.0 (and higher) devices should be ready to go. Also noted in the update is the tease of a Notification Center which should bring all the "fun" of constant updates. It isn't quite live yet, but hopefully Amazon can find a way to let user's know their favorite author has a new book out without increasing our levels of annoyance. It's due to start working "in the next few weeks."
Fiske’s Reading Machine was a pre-silicon Kindle
E-readers have become one of the most pervasive pieces of tech for many reasons. They survive alongside tablets because they're accessible -- Amazon's entry-level Kindle is just $80 -- and don't require daily charging. E-ink displays don't strain your eyes nearly as much as backlit screens, nor do they keep you up at night. Above all else, though, they can hold the entire works of Shakespeare countless times over while being thinner and lighter than any paperback. But this idea of portability, of condensing the written word into a format only a device can understand, is older than The Great Gatsby. It can be traced back to the early 1920s, and the invention of the Fiske Reading Machine.
Kobo's new e-reader offers an HD e-ink screen for $130
In a world full of full-color tablet displays, it may seem surprising that dedicated e-readers are still around. But these devices actually have an advantage over tablets that avid readers appreciate -- the e-ink displays are much easier on the eyes than backlit displays. They allow for comfortable long-term reading. Today, Rakuten announced a new Kobo e-reader called the Clara HD. It's a 6-inch device with an HD 300 dpi screen at an affordable $130.
UK ebook sales flounder as interest in print copies rebounds
Book sales in the UK are on the rise, but not because of ebooks. Figures for 2016 released by the Publishers Association show a 7 percent rise over 2015, the largest year-over-year growth in a decade. Physical book sales were up 8 percent, however ebook sales fell by 3 percent to £538 million. The biggest contributor to the drop? What the industry calls "consumer ebooks" -- novels, autobiographies and the like -- which slipped 17 percent to £204 million. As The Guardian reports, the numbers suggest a shift back towards printed books. We spend much of our time on smartphones, laptops and tablets, so for many reading is an opportunity to disconnect.
Barnes & Noble's $50 Nook came pre-installed with spyware
Barnes & Noble introduced the $50 Nook just in time for the holiday shopping season, but it failed to mention one crucial bit of software pre-installed on its 7-inch e-reader: malware. Specifically, the new Nooks came with an ADUPS program that granted a third party full access to all of a device's data plus complete control privileges. This means someone overseas had the ability to collect your personal information and wipe your Nook clean, if it had the ADUPS spyware installed.
Amazon Japan's manga-centric Kindle is all about storage
Japanese comics, called manga, are hugely popular. Although you probably knew that, you probably don't know the extent of it. In 2015, Japan's bestselling manga series, One Piece, sold more than 14 million copies. It helps that the format runs a hugely broad spectrum of topics; they're not just action-packed comics aimed at children but foodie series, sports, alcohol, comedy, romance and more. There are also plenty of one-off manga novels, like Steve Jobs: The Manga, to name one (ridiculous) example. It makes plenty of sense, then, for Amazon Japan to launch a special manga-focused edition of its e-reader, with faster page turning and eight times the storage for your digital manga collection.
Kobo's new Aura One e-reader is big and waterproof
Whether you read before bed, in the bathtub, during your commute or at the beach, Kobo wants to be there for you. The e-reader maker just released the $229 Aura One, a 7.8-inch waterproof slate that features a colored backlight for better nighttime reading. I've been trying to find time to read with an Aura One for the past week, and I have to admit the tub and bedtime friendliness of the device are huge benefits.
