E-readers
Latest
Europe to allow gate-to-gate electronics use by the end of November
Certain air travelers in Europe will soon be free to use smartphones, tablets, e-readers and music players during all phases of flight. An announcement today from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) states that the organization will extend new guidelines by the end of this month, enabling the use of such devices during taxi, takeoff and landing as long as they're switched to "airplane mode," when applicable. Laptops must be stowed during those periods, just as they're required to be in the US. Curiously, the policy will specifically apply to European airlines -- it's not clear if carriers based overseas will be permitted to allow electronics' use while operating within Europe. The EASA also stated that it's researching methods for certifying phones for voice-call use, though we don't expect to see a ruling there for quite some time. Phone calls remain banned on US carriers, even though services like Gogo's Text & Talk utilize FAA-approved technologies.
Sony's A4-sized digital paper slab gets a business-oriented price tag of 100,000 yen
We've seen it develop from a flexible, skeletal e-ink display into a stylus-friendly prototype and finally, Sony is now ready to sell its digital paper slab -- you might just have to save up a little more. A 13.3-inch touchscreen E-ink display is a pretty rare occurrence and, perhaps because of that, it's attracted a wallet-slamming price tag of 100,000 yen (that's just over $1,000). It'll go on sale in Japan on December 3rd, with a 1,200 x 1,600 resolution e-ink screen and WiFi connectivity crammed into a 6.8mm thick frame that weighs 358 grams. For the sake of comparisons, it weighs less than an iPad air, even if it costs roughly double. Sony appears to understand the cost issue here, because, at least for now, it's spinning the slate as an ideal "digital paper solution" for highly specialized businesses and (presumably well-monied) colleges. It's even thrown off some example situations where financial (or term) papers are uploaded from either a PC or the digital paper device itself, and downloaded for individual reading or scribbling on elsewhere. It also uses E Ink's Mobius display which uses protective film rather than glass, which Sony says will make it easier to write on compared to existing tablet-stylus devices, although we wouldn't go expecting any Gorilla Glass levels of defense against keys and pocket shrapnel.
Amazon offers physical bookstores a cut of Kindle e-book sales, and just enough rope
Just as Kobo has cozied up to physical booksellers, so too does Amazon have a plan to smother them in e-ink kisses. Under the company's new "Amazon Source" program, any independent bookstore that sells a Kindle tablet or e-reader will be rewarded with ten percent of future book purchases made on that device. This incentive will be in addition to the margin they'll make on re-selling the hardware in the first place, although this margin will be less than that given to retailers who choose to stay out of the Source program. In terms of hard cash, the combined total might actually be worth something to struggling stores, depending on how many units they're able to sell, and it's surely designed to entice them away from Kobo. That said, we're still inclined to wonder whether this is a supremely clever Trojan Horse. A bookseller will only get a cut on digital e-book sales made within two years of the device being purchased -- just enough time for a Kindle customer to get hooked on speedy electronic transactions, and for the store to be turned into a Taco Bell.
Barnes & Noble Nook GlowLight review: much improved, but the competition is still winning
There's a lot to be said for being first. Barnes & Noble beat the competition to the punch with the Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight -- an e-reader with built-in front lighting. And though we busted the company's chops with regards to its claims of keeping marriages together, the feature really did feel like the next big step forward for e-readers. Naturally, then, Amazon and Kobo released similar offerings soon after, with front lighting that frankly blew the Nook out of the water. As those companies further iterated their lines, Barnes & Noble maintained radio silence, something many chalked up to troubles with its hardware division. A year and a half after the release of its last reader, the GlowLight has finally returned with an abbreviated name and an improved feature set. The new Nook GlowLight ($119) features a revised design, weighs noticeably less than its predecessor and, most notably, brings an improved front light. But while it ushers in some welcome tweaks, the loss of the Simple Touch name also marks the abandonment of some beloved features that helped set the line apart in the first place.
Hackers turn Kobo Glo e-reader into a fully fledged Android tablet
You wouldn't expect an e-reader to be very customizable, but they've provided a rich seam of fodder for enterprising hackers. The latest to be broken is Kobo's Glo, which has has been tweaked to run a full version of Android by a user on MobileRead's forums. It was relatively easy, as the Glo shares a lot of DNA with the previously-cracked Tolino Shine. Naturally, the hack gives you Google Play access, so it's entirely possible to install the Kindle app on the reader, but remember -- you'd be breaking a lot of hearts over at Kobo towers if you did. [Image Credit: Kevin Short]
Amazon discounts select Kindles in celebration of recent FAA decision
You just know Amazon's been waiting forever for this cheeky product discount. But heck, if it means not having to buy a $20 Dan Brown book before rushing to catch a flight, we'll take it. In celebration of the FAA easing its personal electronic device restrictions (not to mention Delta and JetBlue), the mega-retailer's offering a nice little discount on a trio of Kindles. Enter "ThnksFAA" during checkout and you'll get a discount on the Kindle Fire HD, HDX seven-inch and the entry-level Kindle e-reader -- sorry, no Paperwhite or Fire HDX 8.9 today, kids. Still, $59 for low-end Kindle seems like a perfectly reasonable way to celebrate the recent FAA decision.
Amazon intros Kindle First for those who can't wait a month for the new Gloria Gaynor book
Waiting another month for that new inspirational Gloria Gaynor book? You'll survive, most likely -- but just in case, Amazon's debuting a new program called Kindle First. Customers can get early access to new titles for $1.99 - or for free, if they're a member of the exclusive club that is Amazon Prime. New titles will be chosen each month - though judging from the current offerings, it's not exactly a-list material. But hey, what do you want for free? You can check out the current offerings in the source link below.
Barnes & Noble's Nook GlowLight is lighter, brighter, whiter, with less Simple Touch for $119
As a ketchup bottle once famously said: Good things take time (we're paraphrasing here, of course). Roughly a year and a half ago, Barnes & Noble made its top-notch Nook Simple Touch even better with the addition of GlowLight. Before the end of the year, however, the company had been outdone by both Kobo and Amazon in that department; the two e-reader competitors launched devices with more uniform and brighter front-lighting technologies. Since then, those companies have both offered up refreshes, Amazon with a new Paperwhite and Kobo with the slick Aura, leaving us wondering why Barnes & Noble had been quiet for so long. Surely issues with its hardware division couldn't be helping matters. Today, however, things are looking, um, brighter for the company. The latest Nook is available now through Barnes & Noble's site, bringing with it a slew of upgrades and a shortened name. Say "goodbye" to Simple Touch. This time out, it's just Nook GlowLight, a new name for a new look. Gone is the matte black color scheme of its predecessor (not to mention most of the rest of the industry). That's been traded in for a white design that evokes the Nook HD tablet. It's also easier on the eyes, according to the company, with less of a contrast between the bezel and display. It's still a sizable bezel, of course. B&N didn't shave things down like Kobo. There's also a rubber bumper running around the perimeter. The company won't actually call it "rugged," but we suspect that'll help it take a tumble a bit more gracefully.
Amazon's Matchbook service now live, works with over 70,000 books for $3 or less
Amazon's Matchbook service, which offers e-book versions of hard copies of books like Amazon's Autorip offers digital versions of physical music, is now live. The service supports over 70,000 books at launch with digital equivalents costing $3 or less. The service recognizes purchases from as far as 1995 (when Amazon first started selling books), and their digital versions come with all the bells and whistles readers have come to expect from the Kindle service: Whispersync, X-Ray and more. Of course, Amazon's promising that there's "more being added every day" to the list of available titles, so don't lose all hope if you don't see your favorite authors/publishers/etc. listed.
Offensive e-book controversy highlights issues with self-publishing
Just as e-books mean anyone with an internet connection has the world's biggest library to hand, they also mean anyone with a word processor can be an author. Some of the big e-book outlets have self-publishing programs that circumvent the traditional channels, so you can simply share your story and let readers judge you, instead of banking on a publishing house giving you a shot. A great idea in theory, but as some e-book retailers are discovering, not without its faults. As the BBC reports, e-book vendors including Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo and others are scrambling to remove certain kinds of erotica (twisted stuff featuring abuse, rape, etc.) from their stores. Several recent articles by The Kernel highlighted the availability of such material, and questioned the ethics of retailers profiting from it. Another issue brought to public attention is how the content had been indexed -- it was easily discoverable using seemingly harmless search criteria. While Amazon and B&N are said to be removing titles deemed inappropriate from their sites, Kobo has temporarily closed its e-book store while it scours the virtual shelves and attempts to "protect the reputation of self-publishing." As you'd expect, all the merchants mentioned have guidelines prohibiting the publication of offensive texts (call it public interest censorship), and yet have launched reactionary measures following recent reports. With self-publishing programs in their infancy, it appears approval systems aren't yet developed enough to automatically flag content that breaches those policies. Despite this rather major hiccup, we're sure many would agree that self-publishing is a sound concept -- there are just a few kinks in the execution department that need ironing out. In light of this controversy, perhaps it's time for e-book stores to start acting a bit more like real publishers.
Amazon Kindle Paperwhite review (2013): is last year's best e-reader still tops?
Amazon's really laid off the pomp and circumstance this year. Between a new Paperwhite e-reader and a trio of tablets, the company's hosted nary a press conference; just a couple of small-scale meetings. In the case of the Paperwhite, the reason seems clear. From the name on down, nothing about the device screams "major upgrade." Both the hardware and software received some tweaks, sure, but, well, if this were an Apple product, it would almost certainly be called the Kindle Paperwhite S. Then again, we loved the Paperwhite the first time around, so why mess with near perfection?
Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight gets UK price cut, drops below £50
Bookworms in the UK tired of smuggling flashlights to bed might want to take another look at the Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight. After all, you can get one for £49 now that Barnes & Noble has slashed £20 off its retail price -- that's far, far lower than the amount people had to pay at launch. According to the book retailer, you can only snag the device at that price point until current stocks last, so the promo can expire anytime. If you're not particularly fond of e-readers, though, feel free to cast your eyes upon the discounted Nook HD and HD+ tablets instead. You can also nab one of those right now, or, you know, throw hints at your personal Santa that you want one for Christmas.
Google patent filing describes tailored online book clubs, minus the wine
The phrase "virtual book club" may not conjure romantic visions of low-lit rooms and vintage wines, but you don't necessarily need those things to throw fancy words around. Amazon-owned Goodreads hosts user-created online clubs, but a Google patent application that's surfaced today imagines a different way of bringing bookworms together. It describes a system that automatically prompts the buyer of a new title, presumably acquired through Google Books, to join a club. To make this virtual version a little more like the real thing, it'll suggest specific groups based on your age, location, interests, preferred club size, reading speed and literary tastes. Furthermore, you'll only be coupled with those who've bought the work recently, so your new-found chums aren't on page 400 before you've even started. It'll all be managed through a social network, of course (we hear Google has one of those), and members will be able to fill specific roles within the club hierarchy. They'll also be able to schedule "activities," which we assume is patentese for Hangouts and the like to foster discussion. The patent filing also talks of financial rewards to tempt participation, which sounds like the perfect strategy for building millions of inactive G+ pages.
IFA 2013 wrap-up: Galaxy Note 3, Xperia Z1, smartwatches, lens cameras, 4K displays and more
We reckoned IFA would be an exceptionally busy show, and now that we've combed through all of our coverage and condensed it here, it's clear the event lived up to our expectations. Sure, the venerable CES may have topped IFA in show floor square feet, but the announcements in Berlin generated perhaps even more excitement than those that came out of Las Vegas in January. A pair of high-profile smartwatches, two titanic smartphones, a duo of lens cameras, 4K displays and a bevy of hands-ons await you in a neat, yet massive, roundup after the break.
Judge orders Apple to stop making special pacts with e-book publishers
After plenty of tussling over the DoJ's proposed injunction against Apple, preventing it from striking untoward pricing deals with e-book publishers, a judge at the Southern District Court of New York has today laid down the law. The final injunction prevents Apple from setting prices with any of its partners for terms of between two and four years, with the exact term depending on which publisher it's working with and how long they originally took to settle with the DoJ -- which means Apple's relationship with Macmillan faces the harshest restriction. Crucially, Apple also won't be able to make "most favored nation" pacts, in which e-book prices and discounts are set across a range of publishers or retailers. This particular bit of the injunction will last for five years -- a lengthy period of time in this industry, and one that can be extended by the court if it sees fit, but hardly the ten-year term that Apple's lawyers initially feared. Finally, another key clause prevents Apple from doing business with publishers behind closed doors. For the next two years, Cupertino will have to bring in an independent third party to serve as an "Antitrust compliance officer" in all deals. Sounds humiliating, perhaps, but again, given the relatively short duration, it could have been a lot worse.
The once-bright future of color e-paper
It's all too easy to dismiss the optimistic fantasies of yesterday: flying cars and robot servants may have filled the pages of Popular Mechanics in the 1950s, but today we're better grounded in reality, pinning our hopes on more reasonable futures based on technology we've actually developed. Still, even those predictions fall flat sometimes, and it can burn to look back at the track record of a horse we once bet on. For this editor, that stallion was known as color e-paper, a series of dimly hued electronic-paper technologies that teased a future of low-power gadgets with beautiful, sunlight-readable matte displays. Prototypes from half a dozen firms exhibited tantalizing potential for the last half of the 2000s, and then promptly vanished as the decade came to a close. Like many ill-conceived futurist predictions, expectations for this technology gently faded from the consumer hive mind. The legacy of color e-paper may be muted and dim, but its past, at least, is black-and-white: monochrome E Ink set the tone for a decade of reflective, low-power displays. Years before the iPad and other tablets created the so-called third device, sunlight-readable E Ink screens nested into the public consciousness with Amazon's inaugural Kindle. Launched in 2007, it was a blocky, expensive and awkward device that had more potential than practical application, but the visibility of the Amazon brand lifted its stature. Consumers paid attention and the e-reader category was forged.
Kobo Aura review: is spending $150 on an e-reader ever worth it?
Outside the US, Kobo is a major player in the e-reader space. Here in the states, however, mentioning the name will almost certainly elicit baffled stares. In 2011, the company was hit particularly hard when Borders, its main retail partner, shuttered. Since then, Kobo's been attempting to rebuild through networks of independent booksellers. One glaring misstep aside, Kobo has since put out solid devices, ones that could even stand up against what Amazon and Barnes & Noble are selling. Earlier this year, the company took this a step further with the Aura HD, a pricey, high-spec, 7-inch device for hardcore readers. Kobo didn't expect to move many units. The HD now accounts for a quarter of Kobo's e-reader sales. Clearly the company was onto something. As the successor to last year's Glo, the new Kobo Aura splits the difference between luxury and mainstream, borrowing some elements from the HD and giving them new life in a more affordable 6-inch device. In this case, "more affordable" means $150 -- that's still $20 more than the Glo and $30 more than the Paperwhite. The company's also made some updates on the software end, including, notably, the addition of the Pocket reading app. So, do the upgrades justify the asking price?
Kindle Paperwhite (mid-2013) hands-on (video)
So we know all about Amazon's new Kindle Paperwhite, but those press images don't really do the trick, do they? Weirdly, we had to travel all the way to Berlin, but we did manage to get our hands on the new device. As we said before, there aren't a ton of aesthetic changes here. Thankfully, we had our last-gen Paperwhite in hand, and quite frankly, we couldn't really tell the difference -- until we picked it up, that is. Gen two of the Paperwhite is noticeably lighter than its predecessor. Longtime Paperwhite users will be able to tell you that the minute they hold it in their hands. Another obvious clue: the giant Amazon logo on the soft-touch rear. Granted, we're probably picking nits here (especially yours truly, someone who carries his own Paperwhite around in a case), but the older Kindle logo was a bit more tasteful. We did really appreciate the front lighting in the earlier generation -- and then Kobo came along with the Glo. Since then, things haven't really been the same. Update: Amazon wanted us to let you know that the version of the Kindle we had a chance to look at is specifically intended for the European market. Follow all of our IFA 2013 coverage by heading to our event hub!
Amazon's new Kindle Paperwhite priced at £109 for UK, arrives October 3rd
A few years ago, British e-readers were expected to wait months before Amazon's latest reading slab managed to swim across from the US -- but no more. The refreshed Kindle Paperwhite is set to launch on October 3rd, just slightly over a week later than its scheduled release in America. Higher resolution, higher contrast text and next-gen lighting technology can be yours for £109 -- reservations are being accepted at the source.
E Ink's new higher contrast Carta display is the secret behind Amazon's refreshed Kindle Paperwhite
Amazon peppered its second-gen Kindle Paperwhite announce yesterday with the usual marketing fluff: whiter whites and blacker blacks! But, it turns out, those boasts do have some grounding in reality. E Ink has a new screen tech and, surprise surprise, it's the one that's powering the refreshed Paperwhite's improved readability in sunlight and increased contrast. And the company has some numbers to back those claims too, marking this new "formulation" as offering a 50 percent improvement in contrast over older Kindles, and 20 percent boost to whiteness. It's an accurate claim by our estimation, considering we recently had some eyes-on time with the second-gen Paperwhite. Still, it doesn't beat the Kobo Aura HD's screen, but not everything niche can be so nice.
