E-readers
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E-reader statisfaction study shows 93 percent of users are happy, just not you
The wind sure changes very quickly, eh? Just a week ago the University of Georgia revealed that many of its study participants -- Athens residents who were given a Kindle to play with -- weren't happy with their e-reader experience, but yesterday a new study reported something fairly contrasting. Rather than doling out touchscreen-less e-readers to a group of people, the NPD Group surveyed more than 1,000 e-reader owners in late November last year, and found out that 93 percent of them were "very satisfied" or "somewhat satisfied" with their devices, while only 2 percent "expressed any level of dissatisfaction." The report also reveals that wireless access is the favorite feature for 60 percent of the users, while only 23 percent chose the touchscreen. Compared to last week's report, this probably shows that consumers who actually buy e-readers don't really care about the touch feature, whereas those on the outer circle are mainly waiting for more -- and no doubt cheaper -- touchscreen e-readers. Seriously though, only 34 percent wanted color screens? Those guys sure are easy to please.
Neonode lives: zForce e-reader touchscreen gets pumped into Koobe Jin Young reader
We're not surprised anymore when another company jumps on the ever-fattening e-reader bandwagon, because really, pretty much everyone is making one now... including, apparently, companies we thought had basically ceased to exist. That's right folks, Neonode is seemingly back from the dead (though truth be told it looks like the company was never actually fully cold), pumping its touchscreen tech -- called zForce and made specifically for e-readers -- into Taiwanese company Koobe's just announced Jin Young reader. We don't have fully specs on this bad boy by any means, but we know that it's going to be a 6-inch e-paper styled affair with 2GB of memory (and up to 16GB by way of microSD). The reader claims to be the thinnest device boasting a touchscreen ever made, and should make its way to retail in April (in Taiwan) for somewhere between NT10,000 and NT13,000 (that's between $312 and $405), depending on the content agreement. Full press release is after the break.
Amazon pulled Macmillan titles due to price conflict -- confirmed (update: they're back!)
Macmillan's US CEO, John Sargent just confirmed that Amazon pulled its inventory of Macmillan books in a powerful response to Macmillan's new pricing demands. Macmillan offered the new pricing on Thursday, just a day after Apple announced Macmillan as a major publishing partner in its new iBookstore -- a revelation that certainly factored into the discussions along with Skiff and other emerging e-book distribution and publishing models. During the meeting with Amazon in Seattle, Sargent outlined what he calls an "agency model" that will go into effect in early March. Under the terms offered, if Amazon chose to stay with its existing terms of sale then it would suffer "extensive and deep windowing of titles." Amazon's hardball response was to pull all of Macmillan's titles from its Kindle site and Amazon.com by the time Sargent arrived back in New York. Macmillan claims that its new model is meant to keep retailers, publishers, and authors profitable in the emerging electronic frontier while encouraging competition amongst new devices and new stores. It gives retailers a 30% commission and sets the price for each book individually: digital editions of most adult trade books will be priced from $5.99 to $14.99 while first releases will "almost always" hit the electronic shelves day on date with the physical hardcover release and be priced between $12.99 and $14.99 -- pricing that will be dynamic over time. So when Steve Jobs said that Apple's and Amazon's prices would be the same, he was almost certainly referring to the $12.99 to $14.99 e-book pricing originally rumored by the New York Times -- not the $9.99 price that Amazon customers have been enjoying so far. Funny how Jobs, the man who once refused to grant the music labels' request for variable pricing on digital music so that Apple could maintain a low fixed $0.99 price per track, is suddenly the best friend of a new breed of content owners. Guess the old dog just learned a new trick, eh? Update: Amazon has conceded, but not willfully. It has decided to give the consumer the option of paying too much for a bestseller, and frankly, that's the right thing to do. Let 'em vote with their wallets, we say. The full response is after the break.
Study finds people want more from their Kindles, less from their newspapers
This may come as a surprise to you (although probably not, you smart devil), but it turns out that plenty of people are dissatisfied with their current e-reader options -- according to a recent study conducted at the University of Georgia. The study was conducted over a six-month period where participants read the Atlanta Journal-Constitution on a Kindle, then provided feedback. The results were, well -- not entirely shocking. Younger adults found the Kindle to be lacking because it had no touchscreen or other applications (though to be fair, neither does the print version of the paper), while older adults seemed more satisfied, but also reported missing the crossword puzzles and comics of a real, live newspaper. Pretty much everyone agreed that the screen was nice and comfortable to read on, but almost no one was a fan of the price. All in all, there's not terribly much here that we think is overly telling -- besides (of course) the fact that paper rules.
Macmillan books gone from Amazon.com, Steve Jobs grins wryly from his throne of golden iPads
We hate to iPad-ify the news so bluntly (matching lower back tattoos aside), but the timing of this one is uncanny. Mere days after Apple's announcement of a deal with Macmillan for its new iBooks store, and right after a shakycam video of Steve Jobs predicting some publishers would be pulling books from the Kindle due to a lack of satisfaction with Amazon's prices, Macmillan's books have mysteriously disappeared from Amazon.com. Even the paper ones, like the new Wheel Of Time book, pictured to the right. You can of course buy books from the other retailers that Amazon's systems support (along with Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.ca), but there's no getting a Macmillan publication straight from Amazon.com. Without a peep about the issue from Amazon or Macmillan, it's easy to see this as some sort of wild glitch -- after all, what could possibly cause such a rift between these two companies to end sales of all Macmillan books, instead of just the e-books for Kindle? Hopefully we find out soon, before our heads implode conspiratorially.
iPad vs. Kindle: Which way to go?
In my post yesterday I touched on the likely long faces at Amazon H.Q. in Seattle. The iPad is something I'm sure they wished hadn't happened, but of course it did, and I thought I'd take a closer look at the competition between the Amazon and Apple devices. First off, if you were thinking of buying a Kindle DX, I'd say forget it. The iPad is a knockout punch to that device. At just ten dollars cheaper than the low end iPad, there just is no contest. The two devices are the same size (both are 9.7"), but the iPad has a color screen and can do a lot of things that Kindle just can't do. Yes, the DX has free 3G wireless for buying books, but the iPad has 802.11n, and for most common usage, it just isn't that hard to find a place to hook up. Book prices may be a bit higher on the iPad, but they will be in color and multimedia with the promise of moving video, color charts and pictures, and so on. I also consider the on-screen keyboard an advantage for the iPad -- the keyboard on the Kindle is basically a waste of space. As a travel companion, all you can do on the DX is read, although there is a rudimentary browser, and more functionality coming. Subscriptions are another Kindle selling point, but it's not a stretch to believe that Apple has something like that coming as well. Comparing the iPad to the Kindle DX, I just don't think there is any contest, and Amazon is going to be forced to think about how they are pricing and marketing the Kindle DX.
AT&T activated 3.1 million iPhones last quarter, 1 million non-phones
While Verizon suffers a bit on paper, primarily thanks to a spendy Alltel merger, AT&T has some pretty good news to report on the "money" front. AT&T's $3 billion in earnings are up 26% over the year ago quarter, and particularly hot on the wireless front with 3.1 million iPhone activations, 2.7 million new wireless customers, and 1 million non-phone devices like e-book readers. While the 2.7 million bests the 2.2 million newbies at Verizon Wireless, AT&T gained less customers on contract thanks to its any-device-goes ways, so it's hard to say who's really in the best position here. Still, with devices like the Kindle, Nook, Sony Reader and now iPad in its fold, AT&T is clearly the go-to for getting your not-a-phone onto the internet. Now if only it could do it, um, well.
iPad or Kindle: will our wallets decide?
In quite a few ways, Apple's iPad and iBooks announcement today was a shot across the bow of Amazon's Kindle. Sure, Apple played nice, even saying that Amazon has done a "great job of pioneering" the e-book space, but you can't help but think that Apple thinks of itself as the evolution of the Kindle, not mere competition. Steve Jobs says that Apple is going to "stand on their shoulders," and that doesn't sound quite as benign as perhaps he meant it. So, how do the devices stack up, specifically as book consuming devices? Well, for starters, one of these things costs a whole lot more than the other... let's break it down after the break.
Apple reveals iBook Store and app for the iPad
Put this down as something else rumored that's come to fruition today. Apple's just announced iBooks, an e-reader app and bookstore (called iBookstore) for the iPad, using the ePub format. We're seeing prices around $12.99 to $14.99 so far... looks pretty slick! We're sure Jeff Bezos and Co. are none too pleased to see this one, but we'll have to see for ourselves what reading's like on a non-E Ink screen. There's a gallery after the break. Be sure to hit up our hands-on right here!
Mustek MER-6T is another Twilight-loving touchscreen e-reader
Mustek isn't in the business of making out-there products, but maybe it's changing its tune by slapping the Twilight cover on its MER-6T e-reader. Just another 6-inch, e-ink reader sans a content ecosystem or wireless connectivity, we can only imagine that they want you to stab the MER-6T right in the SD card slot in a fit of vampire e-reader-hating rage. Ah, but then when the blood is slowly dripping off its .4-inch thick body and into its 3.5mm headphone jack, you to realize that it's got a touchscreen, built-in music player, and that it comes with a luring wrist strap all which make you want to ravish the device forever into the night. You sick bastards, Mustek. There's no pricing on the MER-6T, but the experience seems pretty priceless.
ASUS DR-950 to be released in April for a likely £250
ASUS hasn't exactly been tight-lipped about its DR-950 e-reader -- you know, with it outing photos and all -- but apparently the 9-inch E Ink, touchscreen reading device will be ready for buyers in April. ASUS told the guys at Electric Pig that it's currently in process of shopping around for content partners, but plans to have the e-reader to market by springtime with a price tag in the range of £250 (about $354). Not too bad, though it's tough to get too jazzed about a black-and-white model with the OLED color DR-570 version on the horizon.
Nook becomes Colorware's latest victim
Look, we know we give Colorware a hard time -- mostly because it regularly spits out miscast creations like the abominable Kindle or the unlovable DSi -- but in the case of the Nook we're a lot more ambivalent. Sure, on the one hand you can concoct clashing color schemes like the one above that only someone from Portugal can truly appreciate, but if you slide past the break you'll find tasteful color combos are possible as well. Perhaps it's the Nook's simple logo on the back and straight-line color separation, but this is one instance where we might actually be willing to shell out the $125 asking price for a fresh paintjob. Hit the source link to try your hand at designing a prettier Nook yourself. [Thanks, Kent]
Acer to launch e-reader, app store, and Chrome OS netbook this year; wants to 'change the Microsoft-Intel environment'
Man, Acer's on the warpath. The world's second-largest PC manufacturer seems hell-bent on radically changing the status quo, telling Bloomberg today that it's "aggressively pursuing" Chrome OS "so there's a change to the Microsoft-Intel environment," with plans to be among the first to ship in Q3. That's somewhat ahead of Google's own schedule for reaching v1.0, so yeah, it's definitely aggressive -- and it also sounds like a strong hint towards an ARM-based Chrome OS machine in our future, but Acer wouldn't confirm anything. Still, those are basically fightin' words, especially since Acer's framing the future as a choice between "either" Windows or "Google's defined OS space." Acer also promised to fully detail a 6-inch monochrome e-reader by June with an initial focus on European markets, and we're also informed of a forthcoming free / cheap application store that will be compatible with Android, Windows Mobile, and, obviously, Chrome OS. And lest you thought Acer was ignoring the Apple tablet madness that permeates our world, we're told that an Acer tablet is in the works, accompanied by the candid admission that the Taiwanese giant is waiting to see what Apple has in store before finalizing its own plans. Yep -- things are getting a little nuts.
Astri's dualscreen Android E Ink MID looks and acts like a knockoff
We've never heard of Astri before, but it sure seems to be one ambitious company. We figure it's got to take real ambition to create a pocketable dualscreen device with not just one non-working touchscreen, but two! In theory, the Marvell-powered MID or My Interactive Device (not to be confused with Mobile Internet Devices) runs Android on its 4.8-inch LCD touchscreen, while its neighboring 5-inch E Ink Wacom-enabled touchscreen is meant for reading and taking notes. The concept is similar to the much-more-polished Entourage Edge, or even Spring Design's Alex, though we have no idea if Astri intends the two displays to communicate with one another. We'll be siding with those alternatives until Astri can work out its many issues, though we do like the idea of the more portable e-reading device. Oh, and please don't miss one of the most abusive hands-on videos ever after the break.
Blio seeks to take digital reading in a new, more inclusive, and colorful direction
As if we didn't have enough pretenders in the ebook space, here's Ray Kurzweil with a new format of his own and a bagful of ambition to go with it. Set for a proper unveiling at CES in a week's time, the Blio format and accompanying application are together intended to deliver true-to-life color reproductions of the way real books appear. Interestingly, the software has been developed in partnership with Nokia, in an effort to turn Espoo's phones into "the smallest text-to-speech reading devices available thus far," though apps are also being developed for the iPhone, PC and Mac. The biggest advantage of this format might actually be behind the scenes, where the costs to publishers are drastically reduced by them having to only submit a PDF scan of their books, whose formatting remains unchanged in Blio. We'll be all over this at CES, but for now you'll find more pictures and early impressions over at Gizmodo.
Barnes & Noble Nook review
When we first caught wind of Barnes & Noble's Nook -- a device clearly positioned to give the Amazon Kindle and Sony's options a run for their money -- we were understandably interested. As voracious readers and lovers of fresh gadgetry, pretty much anyone on the staff at Engadget would tell you that a new contender on the e-reader scene is more than welcome. When we discovered that Barnes & Noble's offering would not only feature a full color touchscreen component, but would run Google's Android OS as well... let's just say we were pretty much in gadget-hog-heaven. We weren't without our reservations, mind you; the appearance of this device made for some pretty heated conversations amongst the staff over whether or not we were seeing the dawn of a truly commercially viable e-reader. Of course, for us the proof is always in the pudding, and since B&N is about to launch a full assault against the current offerings, it's our duty to turn over a report. Is the Nook the answer to our e-reader prayers, or just a stepping stone to greener pastures? We've taken a long, hard look at the device -- so read on for the official Engadget review. %Gallery-79717%
iriver Story reviewed, incites rebellion over price
If you didn't feel you got the whole Story yesterday, here's a pleasing helping of seconds, this time in the form of a full-on review. The PC Pro team rates iriver's Kindle emulator as a "serious contender," and places its readability on par with Sony's touch-less Readers. While congratulations are also meted out for a decent integrated MP3 player, 3.5mm headphone jack, and the wide variety of supported formats, two issues stood out for the reviewers. One was that the support for Word, Excel and Powerpoint files was somewhat hit-and-miss, with zooming sometimes not working and rendering some files unreadable. But the major gripe related to the asking price of £230 including taxes (around $380), which the Story was not considered capable of justifying. Hit the link below for more -- even if your interest is purely academic.
iriver Story unsheathed, still looks remarkably like a Kindle
If you're pro-ebook readers but anti-Amazon censorship, here's a decent alternative for your cashola. The Story reader from iriver has been undressed for our entertainment and rightfully praised for its trendy eco-friendly packaging. It's not an altogether unique device, but with an 800 x 600 E Ink display, support for ePUB, PDF, Word, PowerPoint, Excel and even Ogg / WMA file formats, it's at least versatile enough. Hit the read link to try and spot the other differences between this and Amazon's record-breaking piece of authoritarian hardware. Go on -- it's a real rush, we promise.
Barnes & Noble accepting gift cards for ebook purchases starting mid-December
A few nasty rumors were circulating that Barnes & Noble wouldn't accept its own gift cards for ebook purchases, but thankfully, the outfit has come clean today to refute those claims. 'Course, it's possible that this change in policy was a direct result of all the bickering, but either way, the company will be accepting physical gift cards and online gift certificates as payment for ebooks really, really soon. The cards will work on purchases made at B&N's website and through the Nook itself (not to mention "other devices using the B&N eReader software), and we're told that the new policy will be in full effect come "mid-December." In other words, all those gift cards you just purchased as stocking stuffers for to-be Nook owners are good to go. Phew. [Thanks, David]
Kindle for PC app out now, Mac version to soon follow
Amazon has just expanded the potential audience for its ebook format by a few orders of magnitude with the Beta release of its free Kindle for PC application. Doing exactly what it says on the (imaginary) tin, this will allow you to read the locked-down Kindle format on your Windows weapon of choice, though Mac users are left with merely the "coming soon" message you see above. Given that you'll now be able to consume Amazon's ebooks on your PC and iPhone, there's a risk that people might entirely sidestep the Kindle and Kindle DX for more familiar hardware, but clearly the company is willing to undertake it in order to get its wares out to a wider client base. We still think Amazon should do away with the proprietary madness and utilize a common standard like ePUB, but until then we can at least appreciate being given the ability to sync our Robinson Crusoe read across a few more devices than before.
