Amazon’s Kindle isn’t available in Japan and nobody over here bought the Sony Reader (Sony stopped sales over here already). Japanese people love reading (and even writing) stuff on their mobile phones too much. But now Brother is trying to at least get business people interested in a document reader, their SV-100B the company introduced today [JP]. → Read More
I love the Kindle but I might give it up for the Netronix EB-100 if it ever hits our shores. The reader has 802.11g and has some sort of touchscreen. It displays PDFs, RTF, TXT, and plays music. Let’s keep our eyes on it, but if Kindle 2 has a better UI, the point might be moot. Product Page via Giz → Read More
From concept to actual product, the Readius is coming in “mid-2008″ (though not solely as an e-book reader). It will use the same electronic ink technology as Amazon’s Kindle reader although this bendable-display device will apparantly be launched as a cell phone with a 5-inch fold-out screen. The catch? No web browser. So close, huh? The Readius will have high-speed data access but everything will have to be preconfigured from your home PC first, like your e-mail accounts, podcasts, news feeds, and the like. It’s a good first step but still, no web browser? This, according to the company, is for a “simpler mobile environment.” Later versions may contain a keypad and/or an 8-inch screen, though. The price hasn’t yet been set but I’d guess it’ll be somewhere in the $300 to $500 range. Dutch firm launches phone with fold-away screen [Reuters] → Read More
I’ll be the first to admit that e-books suck. They’re great in theory, but they’ll never catch on. There’s nothing that screams dork more than an e-book. E-books are the future. Apparently there is some miscommunication going on and some are under the impression that I think e-books are not the future. I, like many others, enjoy the real thing. There’s just something comforting about having a paper book to carry around, to bunny ear, scratch notes on, highlight words/phrases and whatever else you may like to do. The refresh rates suck and you just want to pull your hair out while waiting for the next page to load. You don’t know how far along you are in the book. Those are just a couple reasons among a slew of arguments to hate e-books. Although, part of me thinks it’s a waste of resources even if it’s made from recycled paper. Traditional books have their pros and cons, but e-books are just janky and stupid, right? Well, yes, they are, but the Kindle from Amazon is a different beast. → Read More
You know what? Screw you and your smartphone. You think you’re all worldly with your Web browsing and email, but you’re limited to that 3″ screen, tops. The new hotness comes from Polymer Vision and its new E-Ink cellbook. Using the flexible nature of electronic ink, the book opens from a size similar to a 5-year old cellphone to a UMPC-sized display, meaning you get real web browsing over the cellular network. It’s got its own OS, and is a proof-of-concept demo, but with a decent commercial smarphone OS, this thing would be the bee’s knees. No word on if it supports voice calls, but we’d assume it’d have to somehow. Polymer Vision Demos E-Ink Cell Phone [MobileMag] → Read More
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