I’m a big fan of my Kindle DX. It’s literally my favorite gadget. I love the form factor, the large screen, the relatively good battery life and the keyboard. Amazon could eliminate any of those items and my love would still be just as strong. The Kindle DX is perfect in my eyes. It’s so perfect that just the thought of Amazon ditching the buttons in favor of a touchscreen pains me as deeply as The Road.
That’s the trend now: touchscreen e-ink screens. Within the last 24 hours, Kobo and Barnes & Noble introduced models with new touchscreen e-ink displays. It’s a fantastic step in low-power consuming displays with really quick page refreshes and battery life. The new Nook has a 2-month battery. All good. Even the touchscreen is great technology with good-enough sensitivity. But I don’t want it in my next Kindle. → Read More
Kobo launched as a Borders-based alternative to the Kindle hegemony, and while their e-reader was perfectly decent, I wouldn’t say it was feature-competitive with Amazon’s latest. They’ve announced today a new device that may not match the Kindle (or its rumored tablet successor) on all fronts, but it’s at least distinct and definitely worth looking at. Yes, a touchscreen e-reader for a reasonable price is finally available.
One of the fundamental issues with nearly all e-readers is having to navigate by d-pad or keyboard while the slow e-ink screen refreshes. The new Pearl displays have mitigated that inconvenience, but it’s still unintuitive and sluggish. The Plastic Logic touch e-reader we got all excited about a couple years back proved to be too rich for its own blood, and while Sony has been touting its touchable e-readers for years now, they’ve been expensive, stylus-based, or both. This Kobo eReader Touch is $129, which I think is more than competitive. → Read More
There’s no denying that the latest cool displays are making important advances. But that doesn’t mean they’re quite ready for prime time. Take the flexible, 13.3″ color e-paper being shown by Sony over at SID right now. Without a doubt it’s cool stuff, but be honest — would you buy something using it? Not just yet. → Read More
Remember the Readius, an e-reader with a foldable screen? Vaguely? The last we heard of this device was back in 2008, so we were pretty sure it was kaput, but apparently the company has been bought and the project funded. The device may actually live to see daylight! → Read More
This is a bit odd: I don’t recall anyone leaking any new devices via SEC filings before. I’m know it’s happened in financial reports and so on. But this little document is pretty clear: “In a meeting with investor analysts on May 4, 2011, Barnes & Noble, Inc. (the “Company”) indicated it expects to make an announcement on May 24, 2011 regarding the launch of a new eReader device.” What could it be? Honeycomb? A new E Ink device? Nook Technicolor? We’ll find out on the 24th. [via WSJ and Engadget] → Read More
It seems like everybody and their dog is trying to get a flexible display out there. TDK, Sony, LG, HP, and most recently Bridgestone are all going nuts trying to make this happen
E Ink is no exception, and although they’re not planning on putting out a successor to their Pearl screen this year, they aren’t standing still, either. Check out these videos. → Read More
One of the main features of the latest version of the Kindle was its new “Pearl” E Ink screen. It offered better contrast, faster response, and so on. And since we’ve gotten so used to new stuff being given to us every year, I guess we all just kind of expected there would be another new E Ink screen this year, along with a new wave of e-readers using it. Unfortunately, that doesn’t appear to be the case. → Read More
One of the main complaints about Honeycomb is the lack of apps that are legitimately tailored to its ecosystem. Amazon’s Kindle app, available on a number of platforms, is only just now making the leap to Honeycomb with an improved layout and so on. Good news for people who already have a few books bought through Kindle, but want to read them on their new Honeycomb tablet. I doubt there are that many of you out there, but hey. → Read More
A report from the Association of American Publishers reveals that e-books sales experienced “powerful continuing growth” as they colorfully put it, and paper books of all types dipped, compared to the same period (January-February) from last year. This isn’t surprising news, mainly because it isn’t news — and even if it were, it’s just history repeating itself; we’ve seen the same thing happen to music.
The parallels are clear, though the situations and reactions of the RIAA and AAP are somewhat different. Mostly in that the AAP and other booksellers aren’t being dragged kicking, screaming, and suing into the future, but are embracing it despite its implications. → Read More
Looks like HSN wasn’t lying when they said the Nook Color would be getting an update next month. Of course, they continue to lie about the price of the device ($500, HSN? Really?), but that’s a whole other thing. → Read More
While there are quite a few e-readers on the market right now, printed books still have a totally different “feel” to them. Enter the “Paranga”, a device that’s supposed to add tactile feedback to the experience when reading e-books. → Read More
You might have heard by now of the senseless idea of HarperCollins’s that their e-books should only be able to be lent 26 times by libraries before “expiring.” Not the smartest PR move I’ve seen. But I’d just like to congratulate Halifax’s public library system for opting not to acquire any of these restricted titles for their collection. Many other librarians are leaning this way, too, but few have taken concrete steps. Tell your local library what you think of this nonsense, and hopefully we can nip this idiotic scheme in the bud. [via TechDirt] → Read More
We haven’t heard anything regarding the Alex e-reader for a long time. I nearly reviewed it, but can say now that due to its performance it really wasn’t fit to be reviewed at the time. I was told then that a successor was in the works, and although we’ve heard no more from them, this week finds a notable change on their site: the Alex is no longer “out of stock,” but has graduated to being “phased out.” → Read More
If you’re one of the Kindle users who is bothered by inconsistent page numbering between editions, this update should come as a pleasant surprise. Amazon is adding page numbers that correspond to the printed versions of books, so you can use the old citing style or just tell your friend reading the paperback that it’s “on page 215.” → Read More
It was just a few months ago that we heard Samsung was leaving the e-paper e-reader business to focus on LCD-based systems. Those reports may have been mistaken, as the tech giant has just purchased Liquavista, a company originally spun off from Philips, and which is working on improved electrowetting techniques. → Read More
Back in October, we heard from Amazon that Kindle users (on all platforms) would soon be able to lend their books to each other. It was one of the features the Kindle lacked that Barnes & Noble really liked to shove in consumers’ faces, but as of today that’s no longer a problem. The loan program is now live, and the process looks pretty simple. → Read More
We’ve spent quite a few posts on Sharp’s Android tablets, named Galapagos, in the past months. The 5.5 and 10.8-inch devices are marketed as tablet/e-reader hybrids, with Sharp having inked deals with Japanese publishers to offer books and newspapers to buyers in its home market. And today, various Japanese media are reporting that big S will bring both Galapagos devices to the US next year. → Read More
When Japan’s second biggest mobile carrier KDDI announced its winter and spring line-up back in October, the company also showed a very Kindle-like e-reader. Dubbed Biblio Leaf SP02, the e-ink device was introduced with an open price model, no exact release date and just a few specs – until today. → Read More
Short version: It’s the same thing I reviewed a few months ago, but with wi-fi and an on-device store. They work as well as can be expected on an e-ink device. → Read More
San Francisco, CA
