Following Fujitsu, another Japanese electronics maker is ready to sell color e-book readers: Toshiba announced [JP] the so-called BookPlace DB50 today, a 7-Inch device that comes with direct access to big T’s BookPlace store (which currently offers around 43,000 different Japanese e-books and magazines).
Toshiba says they plan to expand the range of available titles to 100,000 by March this… → Read More
Two weeks ago, during an exhibition in Tokyo, Panasonic showcased an Android-based e-book reader/tablet hybrid without revealing too many details. Fast forward to today, and we have the complete spec list of the device (now named “Raboo”) plus price and availability (in Japan, at least). → Read More
Panasonic is prepping an Android 2.2-powered e-book reader/tablet hybrid [JP] that’s specifically designed for the Japanese market. The device will offer e-books through a store set up by Rakuten, the country’s biggest e-commerce company, with the initial line-up including a total of at least 10,000 titles. → Read More
When Amazon introduced the Kindle in 2007, Fujitsu started showcasing the first version of its own e-book reader, the so-called FLEPia. Back then, Fujitsu marketed the FLEPia as the world’s first such device displaying pages in color. We covered the device a few times until it actually went on sale in Japan with a $1,200 price tag [JP] last year. → Read More
Samsung has bailed on the e-paper reader market, citing the display costs as being too expensive. Electronista reports that this doesn’t mean they are completely out of the business though, as they are still planning on producing an e-book reader that uses an LCD display instead. You’ll remember that we showed you the a new Samsung reader that was announced at CES ealier this year, but… → Read More
How many e-book readers do you think are out there right now for you to choose from? If you did a little digging, I bet you’d find 50 or so. Maybe 10 really worth checking out. But right now is a bit of a weird period in e-reader history. The Kindle cemented e-readers in the consumer headspace, catapulting them from weirdo alternative technology to mainstream gadget. That’s what the… → Read More
One of the major points the iPad, nook, and other e-book readers have on the Kindle is their touchability. Sure, you don’t need it to read books, but it’s nice if you like interacting with things.
Well, Amazon seems to have figured this out, and has purchased a touchscreen company called Touchco (Touchco, really?) that owns a nice, transparent, resistive touchscreen tech that could easily be… → Read More
In-flight movies might not be the only form of airline-provided entertainment on KLM flights. The airline is considering handing out e-book readers after the idea won a contest offered up by the airline. The idea beat out Online Tax-Free Shopping and placing wind turbines under the runways. (yeah, I don’t get that either)
But as fun and exciting as free e-books seem, it would be a… → Read More
Choosing a wireless e-book reader is getting tougher all the time! Well, maybe not all that tough but here’s a chart comparing the offerings from Amazon, Sony, and IREX. → Read More
Our own Nicholas Deleon is on his way to the official announcement this morning but here’s the latest on the iRex e-book reader that’s set to be launched in partnership with Barnes & Noble. → Read More
It was just a week or two ago that Asus said they were getting into the e-book reader market, and now they’ve gone and given away some details that sound too good to be true. Dual color touchscreens? Sounds like the OLPC 2, except the Eee Reader may actually make it to market. → Read More
We knew iRiver was prepping an e-book reader for the Japan market, but this is the first I’ve heard about an international one. The rather blank user interface of the Japanese Libre has been replaced with a QWERTY keyboard on this, the Story. It looks like a nice little piece of kit, but it doesn’t really set itself apart too much, though it does have a microphone — a nice feature for… → Read More
Love it or hate it, Amazon.com’s Kindle e-book reader is selling well — in fact, even at $359 there currently aren’t any in stock. So Amazon certainly doesn’t need any advice from me about how to sell more Kindles, but I have some ideas about how the company could make the device more attractive to casual readers like me. The basic idea would be to make the Kindle reach critical mass… → Read More
Here it is, you guys; the book of the future. It’s the $350 ECTACO jetBook — the “ultimate pocket library.” It’s got a 5-inch screen yet “fits perfectly in the palm of your hand.” My what an enormous palm you have, sir. It’s got a cool translation feature wherein you can translate snippets of text between English and Russian and Polish. You can also… → Read More
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