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Engadget's back to school guide 2011: e-readers
Welcome to Engadget's Back to School guide! We know that this time of year can be pretty annoying and stressful for everyone, so we're here to help out with the heartbreaking process of gadget buying for the school-aged crowd. Today, we've got our optical viewfinders set firmly on digital cameras -- and you can head to the Back to School hub to see the rest of the product guides as they're added throughout the month. Be sure to keep checking back -- at the end of the month we'll be giving away a ton of the gear featured in our guides -- and hit up the hub page right here! Most of us are still walking around hunchbacked from years of carrying heavy textbooks in our overstuffed backpacks. Thankfully, an e-reader can significantly lighten the loads for students everywhere. Sure, we've still got a ways to go before electronic devices can replace textbooks altogether, but in the long run, it's a purpose that could significantly impact the postures of backpack wearers all over. Jump past the break for our recommendations, and another opportunity to enter our back to school giveaway. Simply leave a comment below to be entered to win, and head over to our giveaway page for more details.
Engadget Podcast 249 - 07.22.2011
Here at Engadget, and here on the Engadget Podcast in particular, we're all about customer service. OK, maybe not all about customer service, but on this episode we've dedicated twenty percent of our breath to answering your questions! If you happen to enjoy a bunch of Apple news too -- which we heard you do you -- then we're at about fifty percent on-track to serving you completely. If you like Apple news, having your questions answered, and a healthy dose of other up-to-the-minute information in the spacecraft, e-reader, and digital camera realms...well, let's just say we got this.Host: Tim Stevens, Brian HeaterGuests: Dana WollmanProducer: Trent WolbeMusic: Paradise City02:44 - Apple Mac OS X Lion available now in the App Store06:00 - Apple refreshes MacBook Air with Sandy Bridge, Thunderbolt, and backlit keyboards08:35 - Apple OS X Lion (10.7) review17:32 - The MacBook drops from Apple's Store (update: confirmed)22:37 - Apple updates Mac mini: Core i5 and i7, Thunderbolt, AMD Radeon HD, no SuperDrive22:55 - Apple rolls out 27-inch Thunderbolt Display with FaceTime HD camera, built-in speakers23:45 - Apple's Q3 earnings exceed estimates: $28.57 billion revenue, $7.31 billion profit, 20 million iPhones sold25:13 - Apple outpaces Nokia in global smartphone shipments28:00 - Nokia Q2 2011: 'clearly disappointing' results as challenges prove 'greater than expected'32:35 - Motorola Droid 3 review37:35 - Sony Alpha NEX-C3 review42:55 - iRiver Story HD review49:51 - Space Shuttle Atlantis touches down in Florida, won't be going back up again50:44 - Google 'winding down' Labs, likely due to meddling older sister51:40 - Listener questionsHear the podcastSubscribe to the podcast[iTunes] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in iTunes (enhanced AAC).[RSS MP3] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in MP3) to your RSS aggregator and have the show delivered automatically.[RSS AAC] Add the Engadget Podcast feed (in enhanced AAC) to your RSS aggregator.[Zune] Subscribe to the Podcast directly in the Zune MarketplaceDownload the podcastLISTEN (MP3)LISTEN (AAC)LISTEN (OGG)Contact the podcastSend your questions to @tim_stevens.Leave us a voicemail: (423) 438-3005 (GADGET-3005)E-mail us: podcast at engadget dot comTwitter: @tim_stevens @bheater @danawollman
J.K. Rowling, Google to bring Pottermania to your e-reader
Having a hard time parting ways with a certain plucky, lightning-scarred orphan? J.K. Rowling feels your pain (as she counts her money) and has teamed up with Google to help you fall in love with the world of Hogwarts all over again -- e-book style. The voluminous tomes will be making their exclusive electronic debut through Google's eBooks platform as part of the Sony-backed Pottermore site launching this October. El Goog's open format plays nicely with "more than 80 ereaders" -- we're looking at you iRiver Story HD -- and can also be downloaded in app form for iOS and Android smartphones. But the integration doesn't end there -- under terms of the agreement, Google Checkout "will be the preferred third party payment platform" for all the site's Harry Potter knick knacks your credit limit will allow. It's ok, you don't have to let go of the dream just yet. There's still a little wizard inside us all.
iRiver Story HD review
When it was unveiled back in January, the Story HD, iRiver's first entry into the US e-reader market, boasted all manner of exciting technologies, including an "HD" display and a souped-up (in e-reader terms) processor. Things have changed in the past six months, thanks in part to new Nook and Kobo devices. The other week, however, iRiver pulled out a pre-release surprise that turned plenty of heads: a partnership with Google Books. Are these features enough to make the company competitive in an already crowded market dominated by the Kindle? Find out the answer to all that and more in the review below. %Gallery-128506%
There's a web browser hiding inside the iriver Story HD, but it's pretty shy
Looking for a way to surf the web on your new iriver Story HD? The Digital Reader's got you covered, with a nifty, albeit not totally satisfying hack. As it turns out, the Story HD's much-ballyhooed Google eBookstore operates as a mobile version, rather than an app, meaning you can use it to access other pages -- if you know the trick. All you have to do is navigate to the first Help page within the eBookstore, where you'll see a list of links running across the top. The Books link leads to books.google.com, from which you can jump to google.com, effectively putting the internet at your fingertips. The major downside, however, is that iriver's hidden browser won't give you an address bar, though it does offer basic refresh and page-flipping capabilities, located within the options menu. It's certainly not as fluid as the WebKit-based browser you'll find on Amazon's third-generation Kindle, nor is it as straightforward as that experimental feature buried within the Nook WiFi -- but at least it's there. If you're interested in digging it up, hit the source link for more details. [Thanks, Nate]
iRiver Story HD becomes first Google eBooks-integrated e-reader, won't be the last
We aren't exactly lacking for digital bookstores, but Google's eBooks offering is indeed one of the slickest around. And evidently, it's not in nearly as many places as the marketers in Mountain View would like. The Goog just announced that iRiver's Story HD would soon become the first Google eBooks-integrated e-reader, with the new model going on sale July 17th at Target. It'll still sell for $139.99, and none of the actual hardware specifications will change from the existing model. Of course, the eBooks platform has been open to all publishers, retailers and manufacturers from the start; it's just that iRiver has become the first manufacturer to heed the call. Naturally, Google's teasing us by openly stating that more of these are on the way, and if you just so happen to be an e-reader maker... well, it'd certainly love to have a chat.
iriver Story HD e-reader hits the FCC, US retailers next?
We haven't heard much about iriver's Story HD e-reader since it quite literally landed in our laps at CES back in January, but it looks like it might now finally be nearing a US launch. The e-reader has just turned up at the FCC, where's it's been thoroughly tested and dissected (see the link below for some additional evidence). That's not always a sure sign that a US launch is imminent, but it does seem likely in this case -- especially considering that iriver has already lined up a number of US content partnerships for the device. As for the e-reader itself, it's similar in size to the Kindle and packs a 6-inch 1024 x 768 display, along with an 800MHz Coretx A8 processor, 2GB of internal memory, an SD card slot for expansion, and WiFi connectivity. In other words, it remains unchanged from CES, which means our preview is just as relevant as ever.
iriver Story HD e-reader preview (video)
Our trailer was just visited by an iriver rep bearing his company's Kindle killer in waiting, the Story HD. This 6-inch e-reader touts a bodacious 1024 x 768 resolution, which contributes to an even better contrast ratio than on Amazon's E Ink slate, while software optimizations between now and release are expected to make the Story HD the fastest-refreshing device of its kind. The display itself is built by LG Display and is accompanied by a Freescale Cortex A8 CPU, 2GB of onboard storage, and an SDHC card-reading slot. Sun rays are, as expected, absolutely no problem and we have to admit that on first sight we thought the device had a sticker affixed to its front -- its that good at reproducing printed materials. Physically, it seems to have been constructed with the third-gen Kindle as its dimensional blueprint, albeit with quite a different control scheme. The hand-built proto unit we played with wasn't really ready to have its ergonomics judged properly, but iriver has plenty of time until the expected May launch to iron out any kinks. Content distribution partnerships have already been sewn up for the US, so now it's just a matter of patience until we get our e-reading on in gorgeous XGA resolution. Video hands-on after the break. %Gallery-113350% %Gallery-113351%
iriver teams with LG Display on Story HD e-reader, bumps resolution to 1024 x 768
What a difference a year makes, right? At CES 2010, we were staring at iriver's Story e-reader, wondering if the future would ever be the same. Today, we're doing something similar, albeit with way more pixel density. Sure to please our own, in-house Pixel Density Enthusiast Paul Miller, iriver has just let loose the world's highest resolution 6-inch e-reader. The Story HD -- which was designed in cooperation with LG Display -- still relies on e-paper, but it packs an XGA (1024 x 768) screen resolution. According to iriver, that represents a 63.8 percent pixel increase over the competition, offering increased legibility, faster response performance and finer fonts. You'll also find a Freescale processor, built-in WiFi and a content access portal that's being kept under wraps for now. It's also equipped with Easy Wi-Fi Network support, a battery good for up to three weeks of use and compatibility with DRM-laced ePUB and PDF files. If you're curious to know just how badly this thing will undercut those LCD-based alternatives, you'll have to wait; we're simply told that it'll be "competitively priced" and available for purchase in Q2 2011.
