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Cybook Gen3 e-book reader gets reviewed
Bookeen's Cybook Gen3 e-book reader has been a long time coming, but now that it's out in the wild we're finally starting to get some reviews of the device, including this fairly thorough one from the folks at The Future of Things. Unfortunately for those looking forward to the reader, they found it to be quite a mixed bag. On the upside, they found the device to be thin, light, small and fast, with it also boasting solid battery life and, most importantly, a screen that's "very comfortable" to read, even outdoors. They were also impressed with the Cybook's RSS support, and the Mobipocket format used for e-books. On the downside, the page flip mechanism proved to be "cumbersome," and they found that the current firmware left a lot to be desired, with them even going so far as to say that it felt like it was "rushed to the market too soon." They were also somewhat disappointed by the lack of SDHC support, and a lack of wireless connectivity (be it 3G or WiFi). They also point out, however, that none of the e-book readers out there are perfect, so if you're in the market for one you'll just have to pick the trade-offs you're willing to live with.
ECTACO's jetBook reader will purportedly change your life
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.
MD Sound's KO-GPS4 navigator includes e-book reader
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.
Jeff Bezos posts Kindle apology on Amazon's front page
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]
Netronix unveils 6-inch EB-100 and 9.7-inch EB-300 e-books
If you hadn't heard, 9.7-inch e-ink displays are the new hotness, and now Netronix is getting in on the action with the EB-300. Netronix is part-owned by PVI, a major manufacturer of e-ink displays, and they seem to be putting them to good use here. The EB-300 has a 1200 x 825, 170 dpi, 4 grayscale screen, and measures a mere 14mm (0.55-inches) thick. There's 4GB of NAND storage on board, along with 64MB of SDRAM and some SD card expansion. There's also WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity for good measure. EB-300 runs Windows CE 5.0, while little brother EB-100 runs Linux and a 6-inch 800 x 600 screen -- and loses most of the other connectivity and storage perks as well. No word on price or availability for either of these.[Via MobileRead]
E-book concept combines leather and multi-touch
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.]
iRex iLiad e-book reader gets reviewed
iRex's iLiad e-book reader has been available to order for some time now, but just in case you haven't yet made up your mind about dropping all those Euros, the folks at Ars Technica have now delivered an expectedly thorough review of the device. As you might have guessed, however, they found the iLiad to be a bit of a mixed bag, with the device's annotation capabilities the real stand-out feature, although most likely won't find that alone enough to justify the $876 or $950 price tag (depending on the configuration). Still, you will apparently get an "excellent" screen for all that cash, and plenty of connectivity options -- even including a few unofficial ones.
Polymer Vision's Readius e-ink phone coming mid-2008 to Italy
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?
How would you change Amazon's Kindle?
Truth be told, only a portion of the world was totally shocked when FCC documentation gave us all reason to believe that Amazon was indeed diving head first into the hardware biz, but even now, it still seems a touch awkward to see a label most commonly spotted on corrugated boxes plastered on an e-book reader. Nevertheless, Bezos' baby did indeed take on the aforementioned sector, though it took an outlandishly long time to go from FCC-approved to bookworm-ready. After missing a gazillion (give or take a few) proposed due dates, the cleverly-named (and questionably designed) Kindle finally made itself available on -- gasp! -- Amazon.com some 14 months after its original coming out party. As with most highly-anticipated devices, this particular one was also met with its fair share of critics and proponents, but judging by the initial difficulty it had remaining in stock, it seemed well on its way to e-reader stardom. Granted, we've no clairvoyant on staff, but we're guessing a few of those orders went to a few of you all. Assuming that's the case, why not give ole Jeff and company something to think about for Kindle v2.0? Yeah, we know you've been enjoying those unannounced easter eggs and whatnot, but now that you've had ample time to flip through a few paperless pages and really get a read (ahem) on this thing, what alterations would you make going forward? How's about a color screen, for starters? Maybe a little more responsiveness? A little less '80, a little more '08 in the design? Or, say, native Engadget support in the RSS reader? We're only partially kidding on that last one, but feel free to agree and tack on a dozen more worthwhile changes in comments below.
Jeff Bezos says Kindle is "outpacing our expectations"
While we're guessing you haven't seen too many of 'em pop up at your local coffee shop, Amazon's Jeff Bezos nonetheless seems to be quite please with the performance of the company's prized Kindle e-book reader, with him recently saying that "the Kindle, in terms of demand, is outpacing our expectations." That demand has also apparently caused Amazon to "scramble" on the manufacturing side, resulting in a notice on the Kindle order page that the device temporarily sold out due to "heavy customer demand" (again). Of course, expectations and hard sales numbers are entirely different beasts, and you can probably draw your own conclusions given that Amazon is focusing considerably more on the former than the latter.
Hanlin's V9 e-book reader with 9.7-inch e-ink display previewed
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 MobilereadRead - V9 product page
iriver prepping handwriting-friendly e-book / tablet?
To wrap up its CES week, iriver has some pictures and scattered Korean text about its booth experience and product reception in Vegas over the past days. Tucked below all the self-congratulation, however, is what looks to be an as yet unannounced prototype from the ever-active iriver designers. The product appears to be an e-book of sorts, but with handwriting recognition and potentially a color display. Obviously, there's no more info at the moment to go on, iriver has been feeling a little protype-ish of late, and we never got much of a product out of iriver's last e-book, but hopefully we'll be hearing more about this one soon.
Talking e-book reader coming next year
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]
Amazon Kindle gutted for your viewing pleasure
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]
Kindle sells out in 5.5 hours
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]
E-books get massive subway ads in Tokyo
Nintendo wants Japanese subway riders to read more e-books, apparently, as these giant ads for software DS Bungaku Zenshuu are popping up in the Tokyo underground. The above Shibuya advertisement shows that Nintendo is committed to the Genius Sonority-developed title, which hit Japanese retail shelves last week.Would you find an e-book reader helpful on your DS?[Via Game | Life]
Amazon's Kindle e-book reader coming next month?
We've seen past rumors of the Kindle's launch come and go, but The New York Times is now reporting that Amazon's less-than-secret e-book reader is coming for real this time, and soon. According to the paper, Amazon will officially take the wraps of the device sometime next month, with it to be priced between $400 and $500. As previously rumored, the Times is also reporting that the Kindle will let you wirelessly download e-books directly to the device from Amazon's e-book store, with a few offerings (like reference books) said to be included for free. The Times also apparently spoke to a few people "familiar with the Kindle," some of whom said that using the device's web browser was a "poor experience," with others also lamenting Amazon's choice to use a proprietary e-book format. From the sound of it, publishing execs are also pinning quite a bit of hope on Amazon and its device, with one even going so far as to tell the Times that "if these guys can't make it work, I see no hope."[Via CNET News.com, thanks Brian M]
How would you change the Sony Reader?
So we were noodling around the laptop section at Best Buy the other day, semi-shocked at the relatively frenzied activity at the big box retailer, when we happened to glance over and notice a very lonely device being ignored by the throngs of shoppers. That poor, unloved gadget was none other than the Sony Reader, which saw a fair amount of hype prior to its (perpetually-delayed) release, but now seems to have basically slipped off most people's radar. Are people buying this thing? Has it developed a following? Is there a community devoted to software and hardware hacks? We're honestly not sure, which lead us to wonder how Sony could have changed things up to make the Reader -- in general, a solid concept -- a more desirable purchase for the mass market. Since it's surprisingly format agnostic for a Sony product, we don't expect to hear too many suggestions in the compatibility department, although there will understandably be some folks seeking support for WMA, non-BBeB protected content, native DOCs, and the like. That being said, should they have loaded it up with more flash, or at least made it compatible with memory cards bigger than 4GB? Would out-of-the-box support for Mac and Linux users help? How about a non-crippled RSS reader? (Hey, at least they hooked you up with Engadget, though). Help us out here, people, what would it take to send you home with a brand new Sony Reader?
Cybook Gen3 e-book reader enters production, coming in September
We already had a pretty good idea of what Bookeen had in store with its new Cybook e-book reader, but the company has now gotten all official with it, letting out word that the device has entered production and is set to be available in September. Now dubbed the Cybook Gen3, the device makes use of E Ink's Vizplex e-paper technology to give you a 166 dpi resolution on its 6-inch screen, and promises to last for 8,000 page flips before needing a recharge. What's more, Bookeen's also announced that it's struck a deal with Mobipocket to license and distribute the Mobipocket e-book format, giving Cybook users access to some 50,000 titles. According to Bookeen, it'll be offering the Cybook in a variety of different "packs," the lowest cost of which will set you back $350.[Thanks, David R]
Sony pulls the plug on Connect, refocuses on PlayStation
After a lengthy, albeit fledgling stay in the digital music distribution biz, Sony has reportedly decided to cut its losses and disconnect the Connect service. We'd already seen the service get shuffled around in an effort to strengthen the division, but it seems like it has finally succumbed to the competition. According to reports from an internal meeting, some 20-plus employees were told that their jobs were being "phased out" as the Connect resources were being shifted to handle the needs of the PlayStation group. Interestingly, it was noted that the eBooks segment would still remain alive and well to service the Sony Reader demands, but Steve Banfield, the head of the Sony Connect division, would be "leaving within the next few weeks." Farewell Connect, it seems we all barely knew you.
