EbookReader
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Sungale's 7-inch Cyberus ID700WTA is neither a PMP nor an ereader, really
Sungale isn't exactly the biggest, most well-known name in consumer electronics, but it's sure trying to make a run with the big boys. A few months after introducing its own WiFi digiframe, the company is hitting back with a hybrid ereader / PMP device that just seems to be caught somewhere in the middle. Boasting a 7-inch color LCD display (800 x 480), the Cyberus ID700WTA can handle most popular multimedia and ebook formats -- from PDF to DivX, it's (pretty much) all covered. It also touts integrated WiFi, support for streaming media from a home network and a built-in clock / calender. There's also the ability to fetch "online news, weather reports, stock prices and charts, maps and traffic routes, YouTube clips, internet radio, Picasa and Gmail," so we're going out on a limb here and suggesting that some sort of web browser or cadre of inbuilt apps are also included. It's available now around the web for $279, and yes, that snazzy leather case is bundled in.
Hyper Gear ereader encrypts files, keeps documents safe from prying eyes
Haipagia's ¥39,800 ($437) Hyper Gear ereader may just be a rebadge on the surface, but the all-too-familiar exterior conceals a rather unique software package underneath. Boasting a 6-inch display with an 800 x 600 resolution, the reader includes an encryption function that can wrap your files in DRM and password protect whatever you like. If the device gets stolen, you can then rest easy knowing that files won't disclose themselves to evil eyes even if ripped from the unit's internal memory. Admittedly, something like this is well suited for enterprise and academic environments, but we're guessing the paranoid in attendance are also taking notice.
Spring Design Alex comes out to play and show off Marvell's Armada chip
You'd think a pending lawsuit and a grainy official video would be enough exposure for one little dual-screen e-book reader, but Marvell's decided to bring out Spring Design's Alex as a way of showing off their new Armada chip, which claims a faster three frames per second refresh rate along with the usual assorted reductions in cost and power consumption. Maximum PC got the opportunity to see the Alex first-hand at the meeting, and note that while it's definitely thicker than the kindle (blame goes to the larger battery and second screen, naturally), it's a smart little device. Hit up the read link for more pics.
Spring Design vs. Barnes & Noble: all the nooks and crannies
So we followed up with Spring Design to figure out what exactly its relationship with Barnes & Noble had been during the development of the Nook and why the company was suing, and, well, it's looking like B&N played some dirty pool here. You're looking at the actual NDA signed by Barnes & Noble and Spring Design, wherein each party agreed to keep their secrets... secret. After signing the agreement, Spring Design showed the Alex dual-screen ebook reader and associated marketing materials to B&N execs all the way up B&N CFO Kevin Frain and B&N.com president William Lynch, who said he was "looking forward" to a partnership. Soon after that, Spring implies that all contact stopped until Barnes & Noble announced the Nook. Lawsuit time! Here's where it gets tricky, though -- the NDA contains pretty standard language specifically allowing both B&N and Spring Design to walk away from each other and develop competing products, so long as they don't use any of the confidential information they learned under NDA. Without knowing exactly what Spring Design showed to B&N and how much of that influenced or is included in the Nook (which Barnes & Noble currently won't let anyone touch), we can't say much about how this one's going to play out, but for right now we're looking at a huge corporation bringing out an Android-based ebook reader with dual electronic paper and touchscreen LCD displays just months after being shown the same concept by a three-year-old startup, and that's not exactly a warm and fuzzy bedtime story. We'll see what happens next -- Barnes & Noble, you have anything to say? %Gallery-77196% %Gallery-77201%
Marvell teams with E Ink for turnkey ereader processor
And so it begins. If you had any doubts whatsoever that the ereader battle was in full effect, let this introduction take all of that worry away. Marvell and E Ink have tag-teamed in order to announce a "highly integrated" ereader processor that'll be made available in "turnkey platforms" aimed at the booming ebook reader market. The ARMADA package includes a 166E application processor, WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G modem, and more broadly, the two have agreed to cross license epaper "timing controllers and system platforms," which may or may not be the cutest, sweetest thing we've ever heard. The goods are expected to be ready for readers in 2010, which means that buying a Kindle or Nook today is guaranteed to cause you all sorts of pain when the next best thing ships within twelve months.
Eston's 7-inch Android MID believes it's an N97, can play full HD
We'll go out on a limb here and suggest that Nokia probably doesn't care about Shenzhen Eston's N97-branded device, but what really matters is whether you should care about it. Positioned slap bang in the middle between smartphones and netbooks, this Android-driven MID offers 7 inches of viewing real estate and 4 hours of battery, as well as integrated WiFi, 3G, Flash player, web browser, and ebook reader, plus the purported ability to play back full HD content. Don't ask us how anyone can squeeze that kind of processing power out of a Marvell PXA303 chip, but if you want to know more, the read link is your ever-loyal best friend. [Via Cloned in China]
Zii MediaBook UI video explains very little
Somebody apparently managed to get a camera up during Creative's presentation of its upcoming Zii Mediabook e-reader, but unfortunately the UI mockup that was demonstrated on screen is hardly standard (no hints of Android, for instance), and it's hard to separate proposed UI elements from flashy video transitions. If there's anything to take away, it seems that the device has an edge to edge screen, and is heavily touch and gesture based on a very custom-seeming GUI. One thing that happens repeatedly in the video is that a bit of text is highlighted, and then when it's "flicked" up it shoots out as a web page or a video or what have you -- seems like an odd way to go about things, but it at least demonstrates that Creative isn't just working on any old e-book reader here. Hit up the read link for the vid.
Creative working on Zii-based MediaBook with color touchscreen, e-book slant
What's an e-book without the e-ink? So very much, according to Creative, who just dropped word of an upcoming "MediaBook" device (which will undoubtedly look nothing like this mockup above). It sounds a bit more like a PMP to us, with "video, pictures, text and services," and a "media-rich experience" on the table, but Creative is also apparently working with publishers for content, with an obvious emphasis in Singapore sources, where Creative already does e-learning work. There's no word of what it'll look like, but it'll be a large touchscreen of some sort, so it sounds like we've got another slate on our hand. Any differentiation might come from having Zii under the hood and Creative's own particular approach to content for this device, but there's not really enough to get excited about at this point. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Samsung shows off color e-paper prototype, PVI might beat it to market in 2010
Now here's some yummy news to wrap our minds around. Samsung, a company with a manufacturing portfolio so wide that you wouldn't be surprised to see it selling toothbrushes and perfume, clearly also wants a slice of that growing ebook market and has now unveiled a 10.1-inch color display with that purpose in mind. It's still very early days, with a measly 10:1 contrast ratio and the ability to display only 7% of the NTSC color gamut, but baby steps are better than no steps, right? While Sammy is shooting at delivering this within two years, PVI -- the maker of displays for Kindles and Sony Readers -- is expected to ramp up production of its own color screens in the second half of 2010. Add these two heavyweights to the color e-readers already expected from Plastic Logic (spring 2010) and Bridgestone, and what you get is one hell of a thriving marketplace -- as long as Pixel Qi doesn't render them all useless when it launches later this year. Read - Samsung Exhibits 10.1-inch Color E-paper Read - PVI to ramp up flexible and color EPD in 2010
Liquavista's e-reader displays do video, color and other magic tricks (video)
Liquavista's been kicking around in the shadows for years now, and while its stuff has largely been viewed as vaporware, the video waiting for you just past the break changes everything. The company has today revealed three new e-reader display technologies that it's working on, and all three of 'em are in prototype form ready to wow. LiquavistaBright aims to speed up page refreshes on e-book readers and add support for video playback, and considering just how awful web browsing is on existing e-ink displays, we can hardly wait to surf on this stuff. It's also toiling away on a LiquavistaColor screen, which is exactly what you think it is. Finally, there's the elusive LiquavistaVivid, which is planned for "product implementation" throughout 2010 and 2011. Hit the read link if you're down for looking into the future, and be sure to tell PixelQi its main competition has just come out in a big way. %Gallery-76592%
QUE proReader hitting Barnes & Noble retail stores in 2010
In a rather odd unfolding of events, it seems as if Barnes & Noble is finally clearing up the mystery behind that Plastic Logic e-reader slated to hit its retail locations by Spring of 2010. After making said announcement, the book seller then went out and introduced an e-book reader of its very own in the Nook, and only now are we learning that the Plastic Logic-built QUE proReader will also be splashing down at the outfit sometime next year. In a brief release posted today, we're told that the recently teased big-screen reader (8.5- x 11-inches) 10.5-inch will be sold throughout B&N's retail footprint and on its website; makes sense given that B&N is powering the proReader's online e-book store, but the fact that it'll be placed prominently near the outfit's own (somewhat competing) device is certainly interesting. We're expecting to see more come CES 2010, and seriously, with the rate at which these readers are hitting brick-and-mortar locations, Amazon might want to consider implementing some kind of physical trial in order to not go overlooked in its corner of the web. Update: Plastic Logic rather dubiously lists "large 8-1/2 x 11-inch shatterproof display" on its specsheet. A bit of digging into the Barnes and Noble listing, however, reveals the following spec "Display (viewable area): 10.5-inch diagonal, 944 x 1264 pixels at 150ppi, 8 gray levels." Sneaky.
Ebooks making libraries popular again, can do nothing about your 80s scrunchie
A few forward-thinking libraries in the UK have started offering ebook downloads as an alternative to borrowing physical copies of books, and the local public's reaction has been one of overwhelming enthusiasm. Seemingly attracted by the idea of being able to collect and return books without having to actually attend the library, Brits have been eagerly joining up to the new scheme. Free downloads that last for 14 days before self-deleting can be had either in the library or at home, and transitioned onto your Sony Reader, iRex iLiad, or that new hotness, B&N's nook. Naturally, the proprietary-format Kindle isn't invited to this party. We've already seen a similar initiative in the USA, and can only hope this kind of convenience becomes mainstream before too long.
Switched On: Making book with ePUB
Ross Rubin (@rossrubin) contributes Switched On, a column about consumer technology. The ePUB standard, developed by Adobe, allows consumers to purchase books at a variety of digital stores and use them on a wide range of compatible devices without the manufacturer having to explicitly support them. That may sound a bit like the PlaysForSure initiative that Microsoft tried mounting to challenge the iPod but ultimately shifted away from (at least for MP3 players) in favor of the Zune, but ePUB has a better shot than PlaysForSure did. First, unlike PlaysForSure, which was playing catch-up to the already dominant iPod, ePUB is appearing relatively early in the market; it need not break anyone's "stranglehold." Second, after attracting the support of Sony, the format achieved a significant coup with the support of Barnes & Noble, which noted last week that it was "excited" to be supporting the format in its forthcoming Nook e-reader.
Amazon spokesperson affirms that Kindle app for Mac is being 'worked on'
Don't pretend you didn't see this one coming -- just days after Amazon confirmed that a Kindle application was indeed coming soonish for the PC, a company spokesperson has now stated that a Mac version is also in the works. With the explosion of e-reader competition, it's no shock to see Amazon branching out in an effort to spread the Kindle name (and business model) to more areas. To quote the aforesaid spokesperson: "Yes, we are working on a Kindle app for Mac." Unfortunately, no further details were provided, but you can bet that Bezos wants this one out as soon as humanly possible. [Via TUAW]
IREX 8.1-inch DR 800SG e-reader now listed at Best Buy for $449
You know what happens when you realize your $399 price point can't compete with the International Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook at $259? You jack it up by $50 and hope people view it as an ultra-premium product, that's what. IREX's DR 800SG e-book reader, which admittedly comes with a salacious set of specs and features, has just landed on Best Buy's site as promised. The problem? It's $449, and not the $399 that we've been hearing for a little while now. 'Course, Best Buy has been known to inaccurately post MSRPs before the product actually hits the shelves (it's backordered for "one to two weeks" at the moment), so we suppose anything could happen. So, anyone snapping this up? Wait, who let the crickets out? [Thanks, Tom]
BookReader for iPhone: You can't judge a book by its cover
We did a fairly extensive rundown of eBooks for the iPhone/iPod touch in August; you can take a look back if you're new to the eBook universe for Apple's mobile devices. BookReader [iTunes Link] , a US$4.99 app for devices running OS 2.21 or higher, has just joined the crowded eBook market -- but it brings little to the table to recommend itself. The app when first run looks beautiful. You are shown a wonderfully rendered bookshelf which looks very similar to the one found in Classics [iTunes Link], but a bit more nicely rendered, showing the spines of books instead of covers in a scrolling list. Impressive, but now what? I really had no idea since there were no instructions on how to operate the app either in the app, or on the Readdle site. This, as I've often said, is a major downfall of many of the apps in the store. It would be fine if it were an adventure game, but not at all acceptable in something offering utility that you would like to get at quickly. The only documentation in the app is a cursory explanation of one of three methods of getting content into the app -- connecting via Wi-Fi and WebDAV to your computer in a fairly arcane manner. You connect to an external server and provide an app-created numeric password. From there you can add books to the server folder... or so they say, but they don't go as far as saying how. I added books to the server, and they never showed up in the app. I was left stranded on the Wi-fi access page and didn't know where to go from there. Now I know that I'm missing something minuscule, but that's exactly my point; there wasn't enough given to me to allow me to complete the task. The second method of acquiring content is through Readdle Storage. You need to set up an account on the Readdle site which gives you a free 512 megabytes; larger amounts of storage are available for purchase. Once you set up an account, it works fine, but unless you know what to do, you may not find it on your own. You can easily add documents to Readdle Storage and they do show up in the app. Many documents, unfortunately, don't look very attractive. Anything that started as a .pdf document winds up looking like garbage since all the graphics are gone, and the formatting is stripped out. The list of formats that BookReader handles is also lacking. It doesn't understand some very popular formats such as Kindle, MobiPocket and Microsoft Word's .DOC as do other apps such as Stanza [iTunes Link]. DRM is not supported, but that's par for the course in the eReader market.
Amazon's international Kindle surprises owners with $20 refund, limited web browsing
The only thing better than unannounced functionality is an automatic, surprise refund on your purchase. With the international version of Amazon's 6-inch Kindle you get both. Several readers who ordered the $279 international Kindle have received the following email: Good news! Due to strong customer demand for our newest Kindle with U.S. and international wireless, we are consolidating our family of 6" Kindles. As part of this consolidation, we are lowering the price of the Kindle you just purchased from $279 down to $259. You don't need to do anything to get the lower price--we are automatically issuing you a $20 refund. This refund should be processed in the next few days and will appear as a credit on your next billing statement. By "strong customer demand" we assume that Amazon means "we're trying to stay competitive with the $259 Barnes and Noble Nook," but that's just a hunch. A hands-on at the Gadget Lab also reveals the inclusion of web browsing thought to have been disabled. For the most part it is disabled but Amazon does let you browse to the English version of Wikipedia and nowhere else. The hands-on also notes "dead slow" 3G performance and Amazon's decision to ship the international Kindle with a US power plug regardless of destination. Weird. [Thanks, Simon]
Watch Spring Design Alex push the web to e-reader format (video)
This is frankly a pretty cool little feature of Spring Design's I-swear-I'm-not-Nook-but-oh-the-timing e-reader / Android hybrid, Alex. Browse to whatever web article / Google book / Wikipedia entry you want to enjoy, press the center button, and watch as Alex "prints" the page to the e-reader screen up top for a more comfortable reading experience. We'll admit we're a bit surprised to see a working model already -- hopefully this is a sign of good things to come sooner rather than later. Video after the break.
Barnes & Noble Nook's first close-up (now with video!)
There she blows, we'll be getting hands-on and try to scrap together some impressions of the Nook if they let us touch it once this Q&A is done. The device is a bit thicker than some, and certainly looks minimal up front. The LCD is nice, but not overly bright, and that's about all we spotted before it was snatched away. Check out the gallery for a few more fleeting shots and a look at a non-functioning prototype for a better idea of the unit's shape. %Gallery-76013% Update: We got a closer look at the device, though they still haven't let us touch it. The LCD seems very "passive," and has a shallow viewing angle -- obviously to gather more ambient light and save on battery. The interface appears relatively intuitive, but we're a little confused and doubtful about the highlighting features -- it brings up a software d-pad on screen, and seemed a little unwieldy, though we'll only find out for ourselves when they actually let us get our grubby paws on the thing. Update 2: We've got some video! It's so very exciting, and can be found after the break. %Gallery-76016%
Barnes & Noble Nook dual-screen reader officially announced... for real
Barnes and Noble's Nook ebook reader might have made an unexpected debut a little earlier than planned today, but it's all official now. The Nook has a six-inch 16-level E-ink screen with a color touchscreen underneath for navigation and settings, and -- it's running Android! You can lend a book to a friend, and there's wireless on AT&T's 3G network as well as WiFi -- everything we saw earlier today. Pre-sales are live now at $259, and it'll be shipping in November. All B&N stores will soon be getting a big crazy display unit that showcases the device and a number of cases from all sorts of designers. And what's more, Nook owners can connect to B&N WiFi and browse complete ebooks in-store for free -- just like a real book. That's pretty great. Update: Malcom Gladwell is on stage, talking about syphilis in Baltimore. People are clapping -- it's a little odd. But the first Nook buyers will get a free copy of The Tipping Point, so that's nice. Update 2: "Ladies and gentlemen, the bar is now open." That's all for now -- we've got a Q&A session coming up, we'll let you know what we find out after the break. Update 3: Barnes & Noble just pinged us to say that they were wrong during the event -- the Nook's WiFi will work anywhere, not just in-store.
