jkOnTheRun

Free Star Wars eBook for your Kindle, Reader or computer

OK, you'll have to like Star Wars for this deal to be of any value, so if you don't, stop reading now. Hmm... I feel in the Force that most of you are still with me. Go figure. Del Rey has a free eBook download of the first title in the "Legacy of the Force" series available until May 13th. That's the day when then the ninth and final title in the series hits bookshelves, so if you get hooked on the first one, you'll have eight more stories in the sequence.

You can download an unprotected PDF of the book, an audio edition or a version for your Amazon Kindle or Sony Reader. Not a bad deal for those that haven't strayed to the Dark Side. Also: a good use of eBooks as a marketing tool. I have the very bad habit of finishing practically every book series I start so you can bet Del Rey will get more sales out of me this way.

(via MobileRead)

eReader adding new titles like hotcakes

I'm not sure how many titles are truly new releases, but has anyone noticed that eReader is adding new titles at an amazing rate? I'm gauging this observation on my RSS feed for new eReader releases and I'm getting anywhere from 15 to 30 a day. This is definitely an improvement over the long haul as I've used this RSS feed for well over a year. My guess: if I'm correct and we are seeing a big influx of new releases then it's likely the direct and positive result of eReader's purchase by Fictionwise in January.

Has anyone else noticed this? Are you using the RSS feed for new releases? Although Amazon has much more of a selection (I'd guess by a 5 to 1 ratio), I'm still sold on eReader due to their simple DRM implementation. Their software was the first third-party application I added to my Samsung Q1 Ultra Premium and I use the program seven-days-a-week.

"Ace of Penguins" games ported to iLiad eBook reader

What's an iLiad owner to do when they just don't feel like reading eBook content? Play some games! Over at MobileRead, a forum member ported the "Ace of Penguins" game pack over to the standalone reading device and they don't look half bad. The game list includes Freecell, Golf, Mastermind, Merlin, Minesweeper, Pegged, Solitaire, Taipei, and Thornq. While none of the titles on the iLiad will cause you to drop your PSP or DS, there's always time for Solitaire, no?

On a related note, I've had James's Kindle on loan for a few weeks. I'm slowly getting used to the page refresh of eInk but definitely see room for improvement on the user experience of the device. Why not some preferences to turn off one of the two "Next Page" buttons, for example? Making them user configurable shouldn't be too difficult and would easily go a long way in preventing accidental page turns.

iRex Iliad video review- it looks sweet

Sierra Modro of GottaBeMobile has posted the first of two promised video reviews of the iRex Iliad ebook reader and I must say this device looks really nice.  The Iliad is the first ebook reader I am aware of that sports a Wacom digitizer and pen for taking real ink notes on the documents and Sierra does a great job showing us how sweet it is.  The Iliad also has a bigger screen than the Sony Reader and Amazon Kindle and while that might make the device bigger than some would like it looks to me like it would provide a better reading experience.  Especially when you throw in that great contrast ratio that Sierra talks about.  Check out the video and see what you think of the iRex Iliad.  I want to say too that I really love Sierra's video reveiws, she always does a thorough job showing off the subjects of her reviews and she answers the questions that viewers are likely to ask.  Great job, Sierra.

Blackberrys get over-the-air book downloads from Mobipocket

The whole "over-the-air" bookstore space is heating up quite nicely. The now free eReader Pro for WinMo got direct downloads back in October and of course the Kindle offers instant content purchases through the built-in EV-DO. Add Mobipocket's reader for Blackberry to the list as of today. Point your 'berry at http://m.mobipocket.com for version 6 of the reader software and you'll have the ability to download books without any computer intervention at all. You're paying for that data connection, so why not use it? :)

Speaking of the Kindle, James is loaning me his for a short bit. I wanted to look at the device for myself and there probably isn't much I can say about that others haven't already said. Still, if you have any remaining questions about the device, just let me know.

(via MobileRead)

Netronix plans 9.7-inch E-Ink reader with touch-screen

MobileRead found an interesting up-and-coming entry to the eBook market in the form of a 9.7-inch device from Netronix. The E-Ink display is only a four grayscale unit like the Kindle, but obviously has a larger screen with higher resolution: 1200 x 825 pixels. Even better, the EB-300 will allegedly have touch capabilities. This is one of the reasons I enjoy reading eBooks on my UMPC: use of the touchscreen.

From what I can tell, the EB-300 will run on Windows CE 5.0 and MobileRead indicates integrated Bluetooth and WiFi. Perhaps that will allow for both direct wireless content purchases as well as wireless content synching from a host computer.

Diesel eBooks now offering Mobipocket format

Diesel eBooks has long been supporting ebooks in Adobe, Microsoft Reader and Palm/eReader formats and tomorrow they will announce the addition of Mobipocket format ebooks to their inventory.  The addition of Mobipocket format will bring their current inventory to over 200,000 books which is pretty phenomenal.  To celebrate this event Diesel will be offering over 750 free ebooks in Mobipocket format for customer download.  This Gratis Collection is chock-full of classic titles that are hard to find in Mobipocket format.

Diesel is also extending an offer to jkOnTheRun readers and offering a 15% discount until 3/20/08 so give them a try and see if you can find something you like.  To enable the discount use this code at checkout:

jkintheshade6211

That will tell them that jkOnTheRun sent you so get clicking.  :)

Go figure: Sudoku appears on the Sony Reader

Personal note from me to the Sony Reader hackers: please stop making the device incrementally more appealing! I really want to like the standalone eBook readers like the PRS500 / 505 from Sony and the Kindle from Amazon, but I can't get past a few shortcomings. Then you folks start making me forget about them by adding these little nicey-nice add-ons and my credit card magically appears from my pocket. Enough already!

For everyone else who hasn't resisted the urge of a Sony Reader, hop over to MobileRead for a .ZIP file to bring Sudoku to your eInk screen. Just be sure in the comments NOT to tell me how much fun it is on your Sony Reader. My wallet can't take all this constant back-and-forth. OK, let me go over my affirmations again... no color screen, not good in low light, limited book selection... but I do read a book or two a week. Ugh... now I have to go fire up eReader on my UMPC for an hour.

First Kindle sighting

 

In Starbucks and the first Kindle I've seen here.  I spoke with the gentleman who is quite happy with the Kindle and new to ebooks.  He is the exact target market that the Kindle is designed to reach, not a heavy computer user but one who sees the benefits of having multiple books with him everywhere he goes.  The book he is reading here he just bought via the Kindle's WhisperNet while sitting at the table in Starbucks.  This is very real validation of the technology for the consumer.

jkOnTheRun video: iPhone eBook reading with TextOnPhone

Yesterday I mentioned TextOnPhone, an eBook web app for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch. Here's an eleven-minute walkthrough to give you an idea of what it offers. I specifically did this demo in a "worst-case" scenario by using EDGE, i.e.; I shut my WiFi radio off on the iPhone. You can see the performance of the experience, which overall, I think is very good. The application wisely caches ahead a number of pages so that you really don't need to wait for pages to load. There are some basic user customization settings and some excellent eBook reading lists and I'm very impressed that the app remembers where you left off in a book. Overall, I was pretty impressed in the short time I've used TextOnPhone.

Amazon Kindle update available with... I'm not really sure

I just walked into in the door and see reports of an Amazon Kindle software update. Very limited info on version 1.0.4 is available over at Amazon. And when I say "limited", I'm being generous because there's no information shared on what's included in the update. I didn't opt for a Kindle, so we'll let James give his an update and share the deets. While I think eInk has a definite future, I'm sticking with eBook reading on my UMPC and other computing devices as I prefer backlit screens and color backgrounds. Maybe that's why I'm liking TextOnPhone, that iPhone / iPod Touch web app I mentioned yesterday. It's working well for me now... sounds like a good reason to do another jkOTR video since it's something better shown than written about.

Readius ebook reader video review

Matt Miller has been a very busy boy in Barcelona this week and got a great hands-on look at the most innovative ebook reader to come along yet, the Readius.  It's a nicely constructed device with that innovative foldout e-Ink screen and even has an HSDPA phone inside.  Take a look at Matt's review and video and watch how fast the page turning screen refresh is on the Readius.  I'll bet Matt will have one of these babies this year.  :)

TextOnPhone: 20,000 eBooks on your iPhone, iPod Touch

I've been so busy reading eBooks on my UMPC of late that TextOnPhone somehow slipped past my radar. This web service is compatible with both the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch only, but sounds like it really leverages the Safari platform nicely. TextOnPhone offers over 20,000 texts for your reading pleasure, plus it offers advanced features like text search, personal notes and the ability to remember where you left off the last time you were reading with it. You can also read in either portrait or landscape, plus there's a one touch button for e-mailing a page to a friend. Presumably, most of the titles will be Public Domain content, but maybe the service will show Apple that people do indeed want to carry, read and enjoy eBooks. If it doesn't, I'm sure someone will take advantage of the existing iPhone SDK. *cough* Fictionwise *cough*

I spent about 15 minutes trying to connect to TextOnPhone, but the servers might be clogged because I'm getting time-outs on my iPhone. Could be due to the news that IntoMobile is reporting: TextOnPhone is enhancing their platform for authors, readers and publishers. I'm looking forward to giving this a try once they're done enhancing and get back to serving pages. ;)

eReader site has been revamped

Fictionwise hasn't wasted any time getting the eReader site revamped which portends good things for the acquisition of eReader.  The eReader store site was down for a day as they made updates to the site and it's back up now and seems better than ever.  The eReader site has been quite slow for some time but the new site is very snappy and navigating around is faster than ever before.  This speaks volumes for the job Fictionwise is doing so far after picking up eReader and I am happy to see it.

The Kindle just doesn't work for me

Since picking up a Kindle when they first went on sale I have tried so hard to use it for my only ebook reading solution.  I love ebooks and have read them almost exclusively for years so I have been so wanting to make the Kindle my ebook reading solution.  There is no question that it couldn't be easier to buy content on the Kindle with the WhisperNet that Amazon has integrated right into the device but that's not enough for me.  I have used it long enough that I've even gotten used to the horrible button design that makes accidentally turning pages far too easy to do.  Once I trained myself how to hold it that hasn't been a major issue for me.  The problem I have reading ebooks on the Kindle is not really even the Kindle's fault.  It has more to do with the eInk technology that it uses that makes it difficult to use.

Trying to use it for so long has led me to realize that the places in my house where I normally read ebooks are just too darkly lit.  The relatively low contrast ratio of the eInk technology combined with the lack of a backlight means you need to be in a well-lit area to read ebooks on the Kindle or other eInk devices.  The few places where I sit comfortably to read are not well-lit areas and the Kindle just doesn't work for that reason alone.  I have tried so hard to make it work but I don't want to change my reading routine just so I can use the Kindle so I have given up.  I know that the eInk technology is cool but the contrast ratio of the Kindle is far worse than a real paper book for example.  The page is not white enough and the ink is not dark enough to make it work for me given the lighting I have to work with.  I can read regular books fine in this lighting but the Kindle makes me constantly strain to do the same and I just don't want to continue trying.  A backlit solution like the HTC Advantage has both the ability to read ebooks in poor (or absent) lighting and also a very high contrast ratio with the page being totally white and the ink very black.  So I have shelved the Kindle for now until some advancement in the future makes it more practical for me.

eReader Pro for Palm price drops to under $5

The changes at eReader have already started now that Fictionwise has purchased the company. Instead of changes for the worse, which is unfortunately typical of a buyout deal, this one is actually better! eReader fans with Palm OS devices can get a great deal on the eReader Pro software, which is now just $4.95.

You can certainly make do with the free version of eReader, but the extra functions of the Pro version might justify the five dollar expense. In the Pro version, you'll get an electronic version of the Merriam-Webster dictionary for word lookup, theme customization, text justification and line spacing controls, plus Auto Scroll functionality. Also included in the Pro package is an eReader version of "The 9/11 Commission Report" (note: don't read in the bathtub or you're likely drown during spats of boredom; you've been warned), "The Time Machine", and a bestseller sampler.

This is great news out of the eReader Fictionwise folks, who've already helped put us at ease by addressing concerns with a direct note to our readers. Something I'd love to see in the next version of eReader for Palm devices: over the air purchases that we enjoy on the Windows Mobile side. Actually, that version is free as well...

(via Palm InfoCenter)

Fictionwise speaks out- eReader is safe

One of the cool things about having a highly visible forum like jkOnTheRun to speak my concerns about different topics is that sometimes we get responses from those involved in the topic.  This happened today because I recently voiced my concerns that the Fictionwise purchase of eReader might spell disaster for eReader customers like me.  Steve Pendergast, one of the founders of Fictionwise, recently posted a comment to my concerns that is so significant it must be bumped up to the front page:

Hi,

I'm Steve Pendergrast, one of the founders of Fictionwise.

Just to set the record straight, we are absolutely *not* going to shut down the ereader format or the ereader web site.

The eReader format and ereader.com web site are both extremely important to our strategy going forward. We love the easy, flexible DRM method, and we won't change it or make it incompatible with past purchases.

Fictionwise has a long history of going out of our way to protect our customer's investment in their purchases. By owning the eReader format, nobody can ever take that format away from us. Every other DRM format we support is owned by a competitor of ours who could pull it away from us at any time. When you think about it that way, I think you see how important the eReader format is to Fictionwise after this acquisition, and how it would be inconceivable for us to throw that away.

What we do plan is to port the eReader software to a much wider range of devices, giving everyone who has ever bought an eReader ebook, or who will buy one in the future, as many choices as possible on how they read their books.

Hope this puts your more at ease!

-Steve P.

That you did, Steve, and I appreciate your reaching out to our readers with the facts.  I hope the merger of eReader goes well for you guys and I will continuing to patronize the eReader store.

Fictionwise buys eReader- end of the best ebook retailer?

While many of us were in Las Vegas at the CES this past week ebook retailer Fictionwise announced they have purchased the eReader retail unit from Motricity.  Fictionwise says this purchase will push them into the forefront of online ebook retailers by making them one of the largest ebook sellers.  I have repeatedly mentioned how I have been using eReader from the early days when they started out as Peanut Press, followed them when they were purchased by Palm and kept on dealing with them when Motricity acquired them a couple of years ago.  This announcement has left me with a cold feeling of foreboding.

One of the greatest functions that eReader has used to keep me a long-time happy customer is the simple yet effective DRM method used to protect the copyrighted ebook material.  They have always used the purchaser's credit card number as the DRM key to unlock the material which serves two functions- it means that customers can put the ebook on any device or as many devices as they want and it also means that customers won't share the ebook with others.  Who would share an ebook that requires their credit card number to unlock it?  Simple yet serves the company's purpose, what could be better?

I have purchased some titles from Fictionwise in the past and was never impressed with the online store and did not find the ebooks as easy to deal with as I do with eReader.  Add to the mix that the new eReader version that lets me shop from my Windows Mobile device directly has greatly enhanced my usage of the eReader store and I have a great concern that Fictionwise will absorb eReader and make it go away.  If that happens I am offering this warning to Fictionwise, I will probably go away.  Let's hope they keep eReader going for those of us who are very happy with it.  I also have about 300 ebooks I have purchased from eReader, now I have to worry what might happen to my library with Fictionwise taking over.

Forget $1500 Kindles, MobileRead is giving one away!

Yesterday's news that the sold-out Kindle is going for upwards of $1500 on eBay got me scratching my head. I think we paid less than that for a full set of paper-based Encyclopedia Brittanica at one point many moons ago. For $1500, I'd consider buying a full fledged UMPC or small Tablet PC to read eBooks on and do a multitude of other tasks, but I'm biased. ;)

If you've still got a fire burning for the Kindle (affiliate link), you might want to flex your design muscles and hit up MobileRead. They're looking for a new logo and the prize is one Amazon Kindle. You have until the end of this month to get your entry (or entries) in, so don't wait! If you already have a Kindle and want to add five or so bestsellers to your device, you can just enter a new tag-line for MobileRead. The best and catchiest one nets $50.

Free app converts PDF text to images for mobile devices

We've mentioned this concept in the past to use your Zune as an eBook reader: convert the text of your content into images as a workaround. The idea isn't limited to the Zune of course; there's plenty of mobile devices that support pictures in various formats. The biggest challenge is getting that text converted to images in the first place. Storage capacity of your device is a close second in terms of this approach, but Digital Inspiration might have a free solution that addresses both issues.

eBooks to Images from MerlinSoftware is a free Windows application that does all of the grunt work to convert text to images. The app opens up a PDF file, extracts the text and then creates image files of the content. You can specify the output file format and even the image size that best fits your mobile device. These two features will definitely help you minimize the amount of storage space required for your content, not to mention the elimination of scrolling through pages: just choose image sizes that match the screen size of your device.

Hands-on impression of the Amazon Kindle

I have been using the Kindle for a few days now and should share my feelings about the reading experience since I can do so with some real usage impressions.  I have settled on reading with the Kindle in the book cover case, even though it is not perfect.  I find that because of the plethora of huge buttons around the left and right edges of the Kindle I have to constantly pay attention where I place my hands while using the Kindle.  I stated in my initial impressions that I felt these buttons were so easily accidentally pressed that they are a design flaw and I feel that even more strongly with extended usage.  Even in the cover I have to be consciously aware where I place my hands and that is just not right.  Amazon must make these buttons smaller and farther away from the very edges of the device in future generations.  It can be particularly distracting while reading when I move my hands to make sure I don't hit a button.  I also find it easy to hit the right edge buttons while the cover is closed which should not be possible.  The whole point is to open the book to the place you left off in the last session and it's easy to find I have paged forward accidentally while the cover is closed.

I am pleased how light and thin the Kindle is in the hands the more I use it.  It is smaller than the books I am reading and is pretty comfortable to hold for extended lengths of time and enjoy reading books.  I am also impressed with the battery life I am getting which is not a surprise as that is the way an eInk device should be.  I must confess I haven't tried subscribing to any periodicals or blogs because I think the regular polling over Whispernet over EVDO will shorten that battery life dramatically.  I have already seen several people commenting that their Kindles are lasting less than a day on a charge because the Kindle seems to be polling the Whispernet quite a lot in fringe coverage areas.  This is the danger of having an online reader and hopefully we won't start seeing many owners making similar complaints.  I am not having this problem thankfully.

When I first started using the Kindle I felt that the button placement would be my main complaint of the design of the device and unfortunately that is not the case.  My main complaint about the Kindle has to do with the contrast of the screen between the page background and the text.  I find the Kindle difficult if not impossible to use in areas that only have medium light.  The text is just too hard to read for any length of time and just shortly after beginning my reading session I get frustrated that I am having to squint too much to read the page.  This happens not in low light areas, the Kindle can't even be read in those.  No I am finding that without very direct lighting it's a gamble whether the Kindle will be comfortable to read or not.  These medium light areas have sufficient lighting where regular paper books can be read with no problem so I should be able to read on the Kindle but not comfortably at all.  I think this would be better if the page background on the Kindle was very white and the text much darker than it is as I believe it to be a poor contrast between the two that is responsible for the difficulty.  I realize that an eInk equipped reader cannot be backlit and thus can't be used in poorly lit areas but these medium lit areas I am referring to should work for any written media, but not the Kindle.  This is something that must be addressed in the 2nd generation Kindle as I feel it is a major problem of the device.  I have read that the original Sony Reader suffered from a similar contrast problem that has been addressed in the second generation Reader that is now available.  If this is true then Amazon should have used the newer technology for the Kindle.

The speed of operation of the Kindle will not set any records but it's fast enough for happy usage.  I don't find anything I do to be irritatingly slow, the system is fast enough to provide a decent user experience.  Along those lines I do have a couple of suggestions for Amazon to make the experience better compared to other ebook readers I have used.  First off there needs to be a "Add bookmark" hardware button on the keypad that is easily accessible.  Bookmarks make any reader easier to use and the current method of having to open the menu, scroll down to Add Bookmark is not convenient and interrupts the reading experience which I don't think is what Amazon wants to happen.  The second suggestion I have is a two-fer.  Drop the goofy "location" addresses that show up everywhere and mean nothing to the user.  Instead at least put the page number and Chapter number at either the top or bottom of every page.  Readers like to know where they are in the book all the time and other than the horizontal scroll bar at the bottom of the page it's impossible to get a feel for where you are in the book.

The ebooks shopping experience on the Kindle is very well done and the most solid experience that Amazon delivers.  It is so simple to search for books and buying them couldn't be easier and kudos to Amazon for making this bullet-proof.  It is amazing to see the depth of the online store and the types of books available for the Kindle and this is where the Kindle experience blows away the competition.

Overall I enjoy reading books on the Kindle, although at this early stage I am not sure I can say it's my favorite ebook reading solution.  Reading books on the HTC Advantage with eReader is pretty darn awesome and the backlit screen means I can read books in bed without lighting to disturb my Significant Other.  Purchasing ebooks on the Advantage is as simple as on the Kindle too, the online store just isn't nearly as extensive as Amazon's.   We'll have to see if the Kindle replaces the eReader solution after some additional time.  I should point out that the Advantage is far more than an ebook reader and is twice as expensive as the Kindle so you can't make a direct one-to-one comparison.  I do use the Advantage for ebook reading though so it's fair for me to compare the two as I am doing.  I have taken some photos of the Kindle side-by-side with the Advantage which you'll find after the jump.  Both devices are displaying the same ebook.

Black Friday site-wide sale at eReader

Much of the eBook attention lately is on Amazon's Kindle, and rightly so. I resisted my early-adopter genes and didn't pull the trigger on a Kindle, so eReader continues to be my current platform for digital content reading. eReader fans likely subscribe to the eReader newsletter, which provides a 10% coupon code in each issue. Today only, you can save 20% in a site-wide eReader sale for Black Friday. Use the code "BLKFRY" when checking out for double the normal savings!

If you are shopping today, consider hitting our Amazon store link at the page top. You get great deals and we get a small affiliate reward, so it's a win-win! Plus you don't have to fight the Black Friday crowds at the brick-and-mortar stores. ;)

jkOnTheRun looks at the Amazon Kindle

The Amazon Kindle is not particularly new as there have been dedicated ebook readers for years.  What Amazon brings to the table is a huge marketing system that can possibly set the ebook market on fire.  My Kindle arrived today and I shot a 20+ minute video showing the reader and how it works.  You'll see the device and all its features and get a feel for how the Kindle feels when you use it.  I discuss something that I feel is a design flaw and show you why.  You'll even see how the web browser works, which is much better than I expected.  Have a look at the Kindle and see how it strikes you.

UPDATE:  The Double Cross book I mentioned is part of the great Alex Cross series of books and not the Alex Delaware as I stated.  I love the Delaware series too and must have had them on my mind.

The five reasons why I bought a Kindle

I know, everybody's talking about the Amazon Kindle and how it's either going to revolutionize the ebook business or prove without a doubt that the business is not viable.  That is a worthy discussion but there are five reasons why I bought one so for all who have been asking me here they are in no particular order:

1. I am the perfect target market for the Kindle.  I like gadgets and I have been reading ebooks exclusively since the Palm Reader first appeared on the Palm PDA.  I have over 200 ebooks in my eReader account and over two dozen in the MobiPocket account I only set up a few months ago.  I love reading ebooks so if the Kindle doesn't work for me it won't likely work for anyone.  One of the big hurdles that Amazon will face selling the Kindle in the mainstream market is selling the concept of ebooks over dead tree versions.  They don't have to sell me, I've already seen the light.
2. I want to report here on the Kindle.  It's what I do and with so many interested in this new device it makes sense for me to pick one up and talk about it.  You can count on me doing that.
3. Amazon has the clout to make this a Big Thing (BT).  While I love eReader and the selection of ebooks they offer me for purchase they can be pricey, especially for new releases which comprise most of my purchases.  Amazon could actually be cheaper in the long run with those same titles only costing me $9.99 believe it or not.  Plus, let's face it, they have a library of around 90,000 titles!  That is huge in my book, pun intended.
4. The Kindle offers instant gratification. I can search for ebooks and buy them on my HTC Advantage today and that has revolutionized my experience in purchasing ebooks.  I love instant gratification as much as anyone and Amazon has done this right with the Whispernet.  Being able to find and buy an ebook in less than a minute is the ultimate act of instant gratification for those who love to read and I expect this will be quite good for me.  While I can do this (not so quickly) with eReader this ability has only been around for a few weeks now and requires a data plan on the Advantage to make it work like the Amazon system.
5. I think it will make the perfect holiday gift for family members.  OK, this one is personal.  I always have a hard time buying gifts for my lovely bride and since she has already been introduced to ebooks but hasn't liked a device she's tried yet I think there's a good chance she'll like the Kindle once she sees it.  Then I have an easy decision what to get her for Christmas.  :)

So these are my five reasons for buying a Kindle.  One thing I have given a lot of thought to is how much fun it will be to hack this device.  It's a closed system so of course it is crying out to be opened up a little.  That said, after that thought process I don't think I will hack the Kindle.  That's a surprise, even to me, but the fact is I have other devices that can read ebooks that do a host of other things, and do them very well.  I won't gain much if anything by hacking the Kindle.  But the main reason for leaving the Kindle be is because I believe for it to be a good tool for me it must be simple and do only what it's intended to do, and that's make reading ebooks better.  I'll see how well it does that.

Something's on the way

You're no doubt sick of hearing about Kindle news today so I'm happy to save you from some more of that.  I did just receive this via email a few minutes ago.  Yep, a Kindle is on its way to Mobile Tech Manor for sharing with you folks.  :)

Dear Amazon Kindle Customer,

Thank you for your purchase and welcome to Amazon Kindle.

We built Kindle with the goal of creating an exceptional and hassle-free reading experience. As such, we wanted to point out a few details before you get started on Kindle.

Your Kindle is automatically registered to the same Amazon.com account you used to make your purchase. This enables you shop, purchase, and download books, newspapers, and magazines wirelessly from your Kindle device right out of the box. Your Kindle purchases are made using your existing default 1-Click payment method at Amazon.com.

Zinio offers free magazine content for iPhone, iPod Touch

Oh, the timing of press releases. Looks like Zinio, my favorite electronic magazine provider, isn't taking the Amazon Kindle release lying down. They've got a press release for iPhone and iPod Touch owners that piqued my interest when I saw news of it on Mobility Site. The Zino Labs team is now offering a select group of magazines for your device at zero-cost, as in free. I just hopped over to www.zinio.com/iphone on my iPhone and see 18 current magazine titles on the newsstand. The offerings are an eclectic mix, although three of the 18 are shall we say, gentleman's periodicals, and include popular titles like Car & Driver, Men's Health, Macworld, Woman's Day and Kiplinger's to name a few.

Using a WiFi connection, I just tapped the cover of Men's Health, a magazine I currently subscribe to. That led me to a thumbnail page-by-page view where I could navigate around. Tapping any page causes that page to take up your whole screen. Of course, you can pinch to zoom and read or tap and drag around that page. After that, it gets tricky. You can't move to another page without tapping a little arrow that appears at either the top or bottom of the page; I had to zoom in on the arrow in order to flip pages. There's also a button for the magazine contents, which provides a clickable list of the articles and stories. I found that to be a good way to navigate around. It's not ideal yet, but it looks like an early attempt that should get better over time. Plus, it's free!

Why didn't we see an eBook reader from Redmond?

Quick follow up on James' post regarding today's upcoming announcement from Amazon. The Kindle should be unveiled under an hour from the time I write this. As an avid eBook reader, I wanted to comment on something but it looks like Robert Scoble beat me to it over the weekend. I still want to share my thoughts in hopes that they're not taken as criticism, but constructive feedback. Whether the Kindle succeeds or fails, the question in my mind remains: why haven't we seen an eBook reader from Microsoft?

Amazon's Kindle coming today- what does it bring new to ebooks?

Kevin's early warning last week was accurate we now believe as Amazon's CEO says that the online retailer will be releasing their innovative ebook reader, the Kindle today.  The web is all abuzz with this news as details have been provided about the reader and how Amazon will offer their wares for the device.  We should point out that from a hardware standpoint the Kindle is not that different from other devices that have come before it.  It looks rather clunky but weighs a svelte 10.3 ounces and uses eInk like the Sony Reader.  This should provide good battery life as the screen is not backlit, something that some will find to be a disadvantage compared to other devices that can read ebooks today.

CEO Jeff Bezos, in an interview with Newsweek, dropped some information about the Kindle that no one was expecting.  The Kindle will have integrated EV-DO that will operate on Amazon's new Whispernet, a service that in effect makes the Kindle the first always connected book.  Owners can buy books online through the network and it can also handle email.  There's no reason the Kindle couldn't be an internet appliance too with always connected capability but we'll have to see how Amazon implements it.  The downside to this radio integration is the potential hit on battery life.  Reader devices with eInk technology only hit the battery when a page is being turned, not when it's just displaying a page which normally makes batteries last seemingly forever.  This won't be the case with Whispernet integration so we'll have to see how well that works.  The network intergration explains why Amazon has that ugly big keypad on the bottom of the reader, something that makes the device much bigger for carrying around.  We'll have to see how that works and we'll have to see if Amazon intends to charge anything for the Whispernet service.  If they do that the already high price of the Kindle, $399, will seem way out of line.

Amazon's entry into this space can breathe new life into the ebook world because let's face it, Amazon is one of the largest online book retailers in the world.  That makes them like Apple in the music business, and they could have some serious clout to bring ebook prices down.  They have already said that ebooks will sell for $9.99 for the Kindle so this may be a very good thing for the ebook industry.  We'll have to wait and see how this goes with the announcement today, hopefully they'll answer all the remaining questions about how this will work.  It can only be a good thing when a heavyweight like Amazon throws its hat into the ring.

Amazon firing up Kindle sales on Monday?

Word on the street web out of CNET is that Monday is the day that Amazon unleashes their Kindle eBook reader. Expected at $399, the electronic device has to compete with Sony's newest reader version as well as the latest Cybook from Bookeen, both of which are priced lower. Sony's PRS-505 costs $299 while the Cybook is available for around $350. Why the price premium and is it worth it? We can't answer the second question, but Amazon is expected to have the largest available eBook content, which shouldn't command extra dollars, but probably will. Additionally, the device might have fast EV-DO capabilities for book downloading via Sprint's network. Digital book content typically isn't that large, so I still wonder if that type of connection is overkill for a book reader (unless it has web-browsing capabilities), but we'll have to examine the details upon launch to better assess.

Adobe admits readers have multiple devices, changes DRM to help

Looks like Adobe just caught up to the rest of us and admits that maybe... just MAYBE... people will want to read digital content on more than one device they own. Yup, it sounds all sophisticated-like, but it's true. Some people have two or *gasp* three computing devices! While Adobe hasn't removed all traces of DRM from their Digital Editions software, they are going to offer "Named Activation" in the next version of DE, which is v1.5. This differs from the current "Easy Activation" as it won't tie your content to a device (hoo-ray!), but instead to your Adobe ID so you can view the content on multiple devices.

I'm still sold on eReader's DRM for ease of use and transferability of content since they use your credit card number, but Adobe's future plan is better than their current one.

Cybook ePaper reader now available for $350

Bookeen has their newest Cybook available for ordering direct on their website. The initial price is $350, which is for just the reader that uses Vizplex E-Ink on a six-inch screen. For an extra $100, there's bundle pack that adds a leather cover, 2 GB SD card, USB charger and earphones. The Cybook battery is rated for 8,000 page flips, which is a whole lotta reading. In terms of reading, you need content and that's where support for Mobipocket comes in. You should also be able to read non-DRM'd HTML, Text, PDF files as well, but as far as DRM content, it looks like Mobipocket becomes your new best friend with a Cybook. Speaking of non-DRM content, you can also listen to MP3 files on the Cybook, provided there is no DRM on them.

The device can also read RSS feeds but I'm not sure how as it doesn't directly connect to the web. The probable solution is pulling RSS from a computer: to get content on the Cybook, you can either sync it to a computer or you can download content directly on an SD card from a computer. Doesn't look like you'll see hacks and ports of Minimo here, making it more of a single-purpose reader than others.

(via TeleRead)

Web addicts port Minimo to iLiad eBook reader

Now hold on: I'm using "web addicts" as a compliment here. After all, my entire daily routine consists of Internet activity. 'cept for the coffee and I'm working on a USB 2.0 delivery system for that too. No, it's good to have access to the web through a usable browser and if the iLiad reader can do it, you can bet that a MobileRead reader will find a way. Adam B. now has Mozilla's Minimo up and running for iLiad owners, but of course, you run some risk to your device software so be careful if you try this. Adam shares the installation in a 6.5 MB Zip file if you're game.

This gets back to the entire notion of standalone book readers. If they have nice screens (which they should for book reading) and they have Internet connectivity for downloading content, why not include them with at least a minimal browser? That would add tremendous value and make these devices more appealing to a wider audience in my book. Heh... "my book"...

eReader Pro free for WinMo, offers direct eBook downloads

I know we covered the eReader Pro upgrade to version 3 in the spring, but the above screengrab caught my eye this morning on the eReader site. Perhaps I missed it, but apparently, you can now directly download content from the eReader store on a Windows Mobile device with the newest eReader Pro software. Better yet, this version of the eReader Pro software for Windows Mobile is free. I have a license for the software from about three years ago and I believe it cost me $10 or $15. Looks like you can browse the store, get basic book info, purchase and then download your content right over the air


eReader indicates that you need an active data plan with a carrier for this function which likely means Smartphones only for direct downloads. Ideally, the store should work over WiFi in my opinion; that would open up the number of potential purchasers to the PDA crowd as well.

 

Sony Reader PRS-505: much improved per MobileRead

Bob Russell offers up a thorough and very detailed review of the newest Sony Reader, the PRS-505, and while the device is far from perfect, it seems to be a more compelling device than its predecessor. My two minutes with a PRS-500 had me seeing spots due to the awful screen refresh, but Bob says the new screen is dramatically better. I'd trust Bob's opinion over mine on this one: he's got more hands on time with these devices and he's probably got better eyesight than my uncorrected 20/200 vision. ;) Also improved are controls, usability and support for using the device as USB mass-storage. There's some downsides too, but I'll let you hop over to MobileReader for Bob's great writeup on those.

I still have an issue spending upwards of $300 on a relatively single-use device when I can read digital content on other devices I already own. As exciting as the standalone eBook readers get me, I just can't get past that and I suspect many consumers are in the same boat. Even excluding the DRM and content format issues, I can't see mass market appeal until we see hardware prices under $100, but what do I know. The hive mind of jkOTR readers is collectively smarter so: at what price would a solid standalone reader appeal?

Sony PRS-505: 20% faster page rendering. I wish it was more.

TeleRead shares some info on the new Sony Reader PRS-505, indicating that the page rendering is 20% faster. The timing of that news is serendipitous because I just got my hands on a PRS-500 this weekend in my local Costco. They had a display model out and it was the first time I've had a chance to play with one of these. My first thoughts: much lighter and thinner than I expected; I think my iPhone weighs more.

Biggest disappointment: the page rendering. As I clicked the next page button, the entire screen seemed to go "negative" during the page flip meaning the black text went white and the white background went black. Once that happened, the next page rendered properly. It happened with every page flip and took way too long for me personally. Remember, I read at least a book a week (three last week alone) so I plow through pages extremely fast. I'm probably the exception more than the rule, but the constant flashing of the page was driving me batty. Is it just because it was a refurb or do all PRS-500s exhibit this? In any case, "serendipitous" is now crossed off my "difficult words to use in a blog post" list. Shoot, I just realized, I already used it in the past and I need to update my list. Oh well, only 34 more to go unless you e-mail me some more.

A history of eBook readers: TeleRead

Paul Biba over at TeleRead offers up a great list of the devices he's used as eBook readers over time. All of the devices (edit: aside from the Sony Reader) were capable of running MobiPocket, which looks to be Paul's eBook software and store of choice. The device list is quite varied ranging from small-screened smartphones to traditional PDAs and up to Internet Tablet's like the Nokia 770 and N800. Of course, the list tops out with a dedicated eBook reader, namely the first generation Sony Reader.

Ironically, I find my list of reading devices to be just as varied, which is great: the more devices that can read eBooks, the better I say! Unlike Paul, I tend to favor eReader for my content and software. Using eReader, I've read books on a Dell X3 and a Dell X51v not to mention my all-time favorite PDA and first unit with a VGA screen: the Toshiba e805. From the standalone department, I got a few months of hands-on use with the original Cybook from Bookeen back in 2004, which was a 10.1-inch color slate design running Windows CE. (It's worth noting that Booken has a new e-Ink model due out shortly.) These days I find the best eBook reading experience coming from my Samsung Q1P UMPC. I'm sure many readers also have various devices capable of reading eBooks; what's your current device and content platform of choice?

Sony Reader refresh: nice, but still not for me

Sony announced an update to its electronic book device this morning; the PRS 505 will retail for around $300 and be available in silver or dark blue. Improvements over the prior version include a faster response time and higher contrast ratio, which should aid outdoor readers. Also new is the native ability to use the PRS 505 as a USB storage drive with the included USB cable. Sounds like Sony has worked on improving the content sychronization; you can use the auto-sync function to move books and folders automatically when connecting the PRS 505 to a host PC.

I still think $300 is relatively expensive for a nearly single use device, but over time, we've seen additional features added in to eBook readers. It's not unheard of to listen to music or browse the web on some models and the eBook communities are often working on ways to tweak their devices. I'm still in the camp of using a UMPC or handheld device to read my eBooks, however. I'm already carrying a device capable of reading books, so I'll stick with that for now. How about you?

Mobipocket update

Time for another Mobipocket update since I'm happily reading ebooks on my BlackBerry again.   Remember I've had problems with Mobipocket since their DRM server went down a few weeks ago.   The end result of that down time was my Blackberry wouldn't run the Mobipocket reader so I uninstalled it and then reinstalled it to get it going again. Doing that resulted in the new Blackberry install not being in my Device List on the Mobipocket server so I needed to delete one and add the Blackberry, a feature of the DRM.

That left me with a notice from Mobipocket that I would need them to reset my device list so I could delete the old install and add the new install. That would take them up to a week to do, something I groused about here.   Well I am happily reading my ebooks on the Blackberry once again as last night I received notice from Mobipocket that my device list was reset and I could get my new install added.   I did that and since I don't want to read books on the other 3 devices on the list I tried to delete the others so my device list wouldn't be full. No dice on that as I could only delete one device at a time which means to do that I'll have to request the list be reset again. It took 8 days last time for Mobipocket to do that so I'll probably not do that. Maybe I'll just switch back to eReader.

Mobipocket reminds me why I hate DRM so much

My history with ebooks is easy to recount, I happily used eReader for years because I think they have the best DRM scheme around.  If you have to put up with DRM then at least make it trouble-free for the consumer, and eReader does that just fine.  Recently I got the BlackBerry 8830 and was sad to discover there is no eReader version for the BlackBerry.  Not one to go without ebooks on my phone I jumped all over MobiPocket and happily used it on my BlackBerry until their site went down for over a week and my troubles began.

Sony is refreshing the Sony Reader

Engadget has discovered that Sony is set to release an update to the Sony Reader.  The PRS-505 will come in either silver or blue and still cost $300.  It looks like some of the buttons have been moved around but not much else is different, and Sony isn't exactly free-flowing with information yet.

Amazon eBook reader due next month: why I won't touch it

Maybe I hold grudges too long, but since the Kindle eBook reader is coming from Amazon, I won't touch it. Sure, the $400 to $500 device looks great with eInk. Yes, I think it's wonderful that the device has a built in modem to puchase books on the fly, although I don't know why it had to be an EV-DO modem; eBooks aren't that big that you need a 3G connection to pull them down from the cloud. The problem I have is that Amazon burned me before; hopefully things are better this time around.

MobiPocket is back up, or is it?

Since MobiPocket went down so very long ago I have been checking it often to see if it was back up.  I need to download some ebooks I had purchased to my BlackBerry.  Last night I was very happy to find the site back up and grabbed the BlackBerry to get my books.  Not only could I not do that but every time I try to access my "library" on the BB it indicates it's accessing the web and then crashes with a Java error.  I cannot access my books on the device, and this situation coincided exactly with the return of the MobiPocket site.  I figured it was just a coincidence until I deleted the Reader from the BB and then tried to reinstall it over-the-air.  The MobiPocket web page for mobile downloads is now down, you get this error when you go there:

So I am still stuck, at least as far as the BlackBerry is concerned.  I guess I'll continue reading books on the Advantage for now.

Mobipocket still down, DRM servers still the issue

Yet another reason to get rid of DRM: when the DRM servers go down, you can't get content. MobileRead has an update on the Mobipocket situation, which has been going on for about a week now. Hopefully, the recent moves of DRM-free music will carry over into the eBook world because these DRM schemes are clearly not bulletproof from a customer standpoint. I don't begrudge anyone the right to make money from selling their content, but there has to be a better way. I do want go give credit to Jayson Billington, whom I presume is from Mobipocket. He commented here and shared info on the problem right away last week. Jayson, any chance we can get an official update or ETA on when service will be restored?

First Skype, then MobiPocket

The Skype outage rolls on, or not, depending on your perspective as I'm still unable to log on to Skype.  Of more import to me however, is the fact that MobiPocket has been down now for over a day and a half.  I've written a few times how I am enjoying MobiPocket for reading and purchasing ebooks and this outage has hit me hard, leaving me stranded high and bookless.  I use MobiPocket on three different devices, the Fujitsu P1610, RIM BlackBerry 8830 and the HTC Advantage.  Yesterday I finished the book I had been reading while I was out and about.  I was using the BlackBerry at that time and tried to log onto my account at MobiPocket because I discovered the last few books I purchased had not been downloaded to the phone.  I got a strange error message leaving me to believe something had gone wonky with the BlackBerry configuration.  When I got back to my office I went to the MobiPocket web site and got this strange web page:

I am still getting this error over a day later which has me concerned over the ability to get to my bookshelf and access books I have purchased.  Remember that this web site is also the online store so for them to be down this long indicates something is very, very wrong.

PDA functionality ported for the iLiad eBook reader

MobileRead forum member, Adam B., decided to add some PDA functionality to his iLiad eBook reader by porting some Linux apps. He's got GPE Calendar, Contacts and Todo all bundled in a single package and while you can't sync this data to a PC, you can get some extra value out of the eBook device. Props to Adam for extending the standalone reader and for sharing the package!

Adam recommends that iLiad owners install the apps to a memory card for simplicity. There's a whole thread going on with more information, questions and answers on this first step, so check it if you have the device and the desire to add some PIM functionality. I didn't realize that folks were porting apps to Linux-based eBook devices like this. I've seen plenty of Sony Reader tweaks, but no true ports of applications like this...very interesting!

Firmware upgrade is here! (Not the one you're thinking)

No, it's not the latest iPhone upgrade which apparently only had some Safari holes plugged; it's firmware upgrade number two for the Sony Reader! Bob Russell at MobileRead points out that the new firmware version just released yesterday fixes a battery meter issue and a problem with the Reader's sleep mode. There's some additional minor features and enhancements, so if you're a Sony Reader owner, check out MobileRead for the full scoop and download link.

Cybook eBook reader coming in September

A personal congrats out to Michael and Laurent of Bookeen: they've revamped their Cybook standalone reader that becomes available in as little as five weeks. September will bring the newest version of their eBook reading device and it's much more exciting than the very first Cybook that I reviewed a good two or three years ago. That one was a relatively clunky & heavy Windows CE slate device that cost a fair bit of coin: the newest one is eInk-based and starts at $350. Not that three-and-a-half bills is cheap by any means, but it's much lower priced than the original if I recall and has a much improved form factor.

The Cybook Gen3 is a tad ove