E-book readers are becoming quickly becoming the new cheapo MP3 player, what with unusual designs, promises of salvation from paper, and now diving prices. Enter the Astak Mentor. This series of readers comes in three sizes -- 5-, 6-, and 9.7-inch -- and is based on either Linux or Windows CE. So what's new here? A sub-$200 price tag for the 5-inch version, touchscreens, Bluetooth, and WiFi. Those three latter features come standard on the 9.7-incher, and are optional on the smaller two. Look for them in October from less-than-$200 to $350, or until someone else comes out with a $99 reader.

[Via Crave]

ECTACO wants you to know something: it's about to change the way you read... forever! That's right, as we journey into the future, nothing will ever be the same about books, reading, or reading books. According to the company, its jetBook reader will allow you to, "Kiss your old-fashioned, dusty library goodbye," and you can rest easy because, "Not a single tree was cut down to make it!" The "completely amazing" bright red device houses a 5-inch grayscale display, and features multi-language support, bookmarking ability, playback of MP3 files, and an SD slot. The game- and life-changing reader -- which will crush and dismember your stupid, old, and ugly real books -- is available now for just $349.95.

Can't say it's likely that you'll find MD Sound products on just any ole store shelf, but for those that look hard enough, they can procure the firm's latest PND, the KO-GPS4, right now. Carefully watching his words, the outfit's head of product development notes that "as far as [it] can tell, [this unit is] the first personal navigation device to include the popular e-book capability." Beyond that, you'll find a built-in MP3 / video player, photo viewer, Li-ion battery good for three hours on a full charge and a 4.3-inch touchscreen. Yeah, the $249.99 sticker may be tempting at first glance, but we're pretty confident you can still do better for two and a half bills. Full release after the jump.

Sure, Philippe Starck may not care for the Kindle, but an open letter posted on Amazon's front page suggests he's in the minority. We already knew that the company was having a difficult time filling orders, but we had no idea the wait for buyers would warrant what amounts to a public apology from Jeff Bezos. Apparently, the online superstore is drawing heat for six-week delays on delivery for some customers, and is scrambling to get itself into an "order today, ship today" scheme. The original release of the device sold out in just 5 1/2 hours says the letter, which might explain why no one is hacking it -- no one has it.

[Thanks, Michael]

It's likely that the Kindle's popularity is going to spawn a whole slew of e-books vying for the eyes of readers. A concept from a student named Nedzad Mujcinovic at Monash University could very well stoke the fires of competition if his Livre ever makes it to store shelves. The system uses an e-ink screen overlaid with a touch surface, thus forgoing the multitudinous buttons of the Kindle for an ultra-simple, gesture-based input scheme. Pages can be turned by sliding your finger from corner to corner, though double- and triple-finger gestures will advance the book by ten and 50 pages, respectively. Most notable for real book fans is the inclusion of a leather stitched cover, meant to evoke the look and feel of the device's analog counterpart. Amazon's designers would be wise to, uh... take a page from Nedzad's book for the Kindle 2.

[Thanks, Nick B.]

It seemed obvious back in mid-December of last year that Polymer Vision wasn't going to nail its timetable for production versions of the 3G-equipped, e-ink wonder known as the Readius. Now word is that the company will have a commercial version of the phone / e-book reader available sometime in mid-2008 in Italy via Telecom Italia -- provided that everything goes according to its diabolical plans. If you'll recall, the device features a foldable, grayscale, 5-inch QVGA display, and boasts a slew of features, including HSDPA, a 400MHz ARM CPU, and a battery life up to "six times longer" than current mobile phones. We'll admit we're intrigued, but don't make us wait too long over here, okay?

Although there's no arguing that the 6-inch e-ink display used in both the Kindle and the Sony PRS-505 looks beautiful, we're not exactly huge fans of endless scrolling -- which is why we're pretty intrigued by these shots of the Hanlin V9 that just popped up on the Mobileread forums. The update to the V3 features a 9.7-inch display that definitely cranks the overall dimensions, but being able to view a full letter-size page seems like a tangible enough benefit -- and the addition of WiFi, EV-DO, and handwriting recognition just sweetens the pot. Apparently there are some issues mass-producing that screen, but when they get sorted pricing will land somewhere between $599 and $699 -- numbers that will probably keep this thing at the intriguing curiosity level for now.

Read - Hands-on with the V9 at Mobileread
Read - V9 product page

Watch your back, Kindle. According to reports, an Iranian inventor named Ramin Sedighi has created a "talking" e-book, which utilizes a stylus that can be moved across words and then pronounce them out loud. The system can also apparently "explain" pictures, though it's unclear whether or not it uses image recognition or some type of embedded data. The device includes a USB port, audio out, the aforementioned stylus, 512MB of memory, and an SD card slot. The laptop-sized unit is aimed at educational applications for children 4 through 16, and will be available sometime in early 2008. No word on manufacturer or pricing.

[Via The Raw Feed]

What is it with this sick pleasure we derive from watching beloved devices torn to pieces by ruthless uber-nerds? Who knows, but it certainly isn't getting old just yet. Amazon's Kindle got just such treatment at the hands of RapidRepair, and if you're one of those doubters that was never quite sold on the Kindle's quirky 90's aesthetic, maybe this will change your mind. Or not.

[Via The Raw Feed]

Amazon isn't disclosing how many Kindles it actually had ready to go, but apparently the idea of a tiny e-book reader with free EV-DO and the visual flair of an Apple IIc hit home for quite a few people, because they sold out in just five and a half hours. Amazon's site says they'll be back in stock on the 29th, but availability is first-come, first-served, so it looks like you'll have to act fast if you want to get one before gift-giving time sets in.

[Via Blankbaby]

Although the article doesn't contain much more information about the Amazon Kindle that we hadn't seen before, Newsweek's cover story on the device is the first official confirmation that the device exists. Featuring an interview with Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, the article lays down the feature set -- $399, 6-inch E-ink screen, no backlight, EV-DO "Whispernet" on Sprint for over the air book purchases -- and the company's vision for digital books replacing "the last bastion of analog." Books will go for $9.99, and users can even subscribe to newspapers and "select blogs" for monthly fees. Also news is that the Kindle gets 30 hours of battery life, and can fully recharge in only two. One thing's for sure, this is looking way more compelling a package than previous attempts at the eBook idea.

[Thanks, Alex]

At this point we've heard so many predicted launch dates for Amazon's Kindle ebook reader we're a little jaded about the whole thing, but CNET is reporting that their always-reliable "industry sources" have confirmed a Monday launch for the device and service. The specs will apparently remain consistent with what we've been hearing for so long now -- $399, 6-inch screen, no integrated backlight, WiFi, EV-DO on Sprint for OTA book purchases, and a big ol' dose of the ugly -- but rumors are rumors, so don't get too mopey if Monday comes and goes with no announcement.

[Thanks, Brian]

Although it hasn't had the buzz of some other longstanding rumors, we've heard a lot about Amazon's Kindle ebook reader over the past year -- everything from FCC pics to tagged content to a supposed October 15th ship date, which came and went with nary a peep from the etailer. Now Brad Stone at the New York Times -- who predicted that ship date to begin with -- says that his sources have told him that the Kindle has been delayed (shocking), but will still make it out by the end of the year. Stone also says Amazon is still perfecting the service and wants to have as much Kindle-ready content (Kindling?) available at launch as it can -- and that the built-in EV-DO modem will pull down content over Sprint's network. That's news to us, but until we actually see this thing we're going to take our Kindle with a large grain of salt.

[Via mobileread]

Here you go, the first honest to goodness proof that Amazon is prepped to launch their Kindle e-book reader. You know, that EV-DO packing device we extracted from the beige soiled bowels of the FCC filing last year. But seriously Amazon, $54 for an electronic book... are you kidding us? Anyway, the launch rumored for October 15th certainly looks imminent.

Update: As pointed out in the comments, an Amazon search of "Kindle Edition" responds with 631 books of which a couple dozen can be "auto-delivered wirelessly to Kindle." Alrighty then.

[Thanks, Serkan C. and Ed]

That was snappy. Just hours after hearing that Sony's PRS-505 eBook reader would be available "this month" for $300, the outfit is now selling the product right in its own webstore. For $299.99 (to be precise), users can snap up the Digital Book in silver or dark blue, and you'll even get 100 Connect eBook Classic titles (and two lines of engraving, if you wish) gratis with the purchase. As for the estimated ship date? Tomorrow.