Things just got a bit interesting in the e-reader market and in many ways, we should have seen this coming.

Remember the “Alex” e-reader device (top left) announced by Spring Design the day before Barnes & Noble formally announced the Nook device (top right)? It was a dual display e-reader based around the Android OS which we commented was very similar to the upcoming Nook device. Well guess what? We weren’t the only ones to think so as Spring Design announced today they have filed a lawsuit against Barnes & Noble for violating its intellectual property rights with the new Nook e-reader.

Eric Kmiec, VP of Sales and Marketing for Spring Design had this to say in their press release:

“We showed the Alex e-book design to Barnes & Noble in good faith with the intention of working together to provide a superior dual screen e-book to the market.”

Spring Design claims they first developed and filed for patents on the “Alex” e-reader back in 2006. Further, the company states:

“Since the beginning of 2009 Spring and Barnes & Noble worked within a non-disclosure agreement, including many meetings, emails and conference calls with executives ranging up to the president of Barnes and Noble.com, discussing confidential information regarding the features, functionality and capabilities of Alex. Throughout, Barnes & Noble’s marketing and technical executives extolled Alex’s “innovative” features, never mentioning their use of those features until the public disclosure of the Nook.”

Now the real question is – did Barnes & Noble actually violate any IPs with the Nook? Did they create the Nook independently of the Alex? Can any of this be proved in the court of law?

We’ll say this much – Barnes & Noble certainly doesn’t need this legal trouble if it plans on combating Amazon.com in the e-reader space. Here’s hoping Spring Design and Barnes & Noble can work things out because the Nook certainly is promising .

Technorati Tags: Spring Design, Barnes & Noble, Alex, Nook, e-book reader

[Reprinted from NetbookTech]

So here you are.. about to hit the road with two devices. In one hand you have an e-reader device like the Amazon Kindle or the newly announced Barnes & Noble Nook. In your other hand, you have a highly portable 10.1 inch netbook allowing you to surf the web, check your email, and work on various PC related activities. Taken separately, each device is highly portable and lightweight.. but taken together, it’s one device too many for travel. Wouldn’t it be great if one could merge the functionality of these two devices into a single platform?

Well that’s exactly what a company called enTourage has done with the formal introduction of their eDGe dualbook device. This portfolio-shaped device combines the functionality of an e-reader device with the functionality typically found on a netbook system into a single system.  With the eDGe in tow, you’ll be able to read books, surf the web, jot down notes, send and receive emails, watch and listen to multimedia clips etc.

What makes the eDGe so unique is its employment of dual displays. The left side display is a 9.7 inch e-paper display ideal for e-reader/note-taking activities while the right-side display is a 10.1 inch touch-screen LCD display ideal for netbook-like activities. Powering this convergent device is the Google Android operating system which ultimately translates to potential access to thousands of third party applications.

The eDGe’s e-reader screen and e-reader features include:

• 1200 x 825 resolution
• Glare-free screen
• Support for zooming
• Ability to read in sunlight
• e-Ink technology allows you to take notes right on the book you are reading
• Enter drawings with stylus or enter text using your hand or virtual keyboard
• Supports ePub and PDF file formats

The eDGe’s right-side display and netbook features include:

• 1024 x 600 resolution
• View images on the e-Book using the color display
• Type text using virtual keyboard
• Built-in audio recorder
• Built-in video recorder for capturing stills or movies in MP4 or 3GP file formats
• Plug in headphones or microphone
• Web browsing
• Email
• Contacts, Calendar, Alarm clock
• Library function to manage your books

Other features of the eDGe include:

• Built-in Wi-Fi
• Optional 3G connectivity via EVDO or HSDPA
• Built-in 1.3 megapixel camera
• Bluetooth support for external keyboards
• Weighs 2.5 pounds
• Measures 8.25 x 10.75 x 1 inch closed
• 3GB of internal memory
• Supports SD cards or USB flash drives
• Lithium Ion Polymer battery – lasts over 16 hours utilizing the e-reader screen and up to 6 hours running the LCD display

To support the launch of the eDGe, enTourage Systems has secured more than 200,000 trade books and is working with publishers to secure text books. The company will also have access to more than one million free public domain books digitized by Google as well as access to major magazines, newspapers and periodicals.

Expect the enTourage eDGe to be available in February of next year for a price of $490. You can pre-order the eDGe now by going to this webpage: http://www.entourageedge.com/entourage-edge.html

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: enTourage Systems eDGe dualbook

It’s official folks – Barnes & Noble enters the e-reader market with the formal introduction of the “Nook” e-reader device. Yes, this wasn’t at all surprising given the amount of information that’s been leaked out by the press over the last several weeks. In fact, everything you’ve seen and/or read probably was true including:

• This is the first Android-based e-reader device to hit the market
• It comes with two screens – an E-Ink display and a color touch-screen LCD display
• Built-in 3G wireless access via AT&T mobile broadband
• Wi-Fi access at Barnes & Noble stores
• A new eBook lending program (more on this in a bit).

OK – let’s get into the details of the Nook because this device just seems really really cool (yeah I know – that’s real descriptive on my part isn’t it?).

• Size and weight of a standard paperback book
• Main display is E Ink Vizplex display
• Secondary color touch-screen display used for browsing through cover art, flipping through a library, or searching for books using a virtual keyboard
• AT&T 3G wireless built-in right now – no set-up or monthly costs
• Wi-Fi connectivity support
• Lend e-books to friends for up to 14 days at a time via the new “LendMe” technology. Choose the book you want to share and send it to a friend’s Nook, iPhone, iPod touch, select BlackBerry and Motorola smartphones, PCs or Macs with Barnes & Noble eReader software
• “Reading Now” virtual bookmarking feature allows you to pick up where you last left off in your book – whether you’re on your Nook, or on your iPhone, iPod touch, PC etc.
• Nook contains up to 1500 eBooks and comes with expandable microSD slot with support for up to a 16GB microSD card
• Transfer PDF files to the Nook for your viewing pleasure

In support of the Nook launch, Barnes & Noble also announced they were expanding their eBookstore to feature over 1 million titles – with most bestsellers and new releases going for $9.99 a title. You’ll also be able to subscribe to more than 20 newspapers including the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and others. Finally, Barnes & Noble is also now offering digital subscriptions to a variety of publications.

The Nook will begin shipping at the end of November for a price of $259. You can pre-order the Nook now at www.nook.com and in stores starting today (Thursday).  The first 10,000 customers to pre-order the Nook will also receive a free eBook of Malcolm Gladwell’s widely acclaimed best-seller, “The Tipping Point,”

So the question everyone is asking at this point – is the “Nook” an Amazon Kindle killer? It’s obviously too early to tell but from the early looks of things, the Nook has a lot going for it. Of course once the device starts shipping, and the reviews start flowing in, things could readily change. However, Barnes & Noble has a couple of things going for it. It’s got a larger e-Book collection than Amazon.com; it’s got retail store fronts all over the country allowing customers the ability to not only view a physical book but have the option of buying the digital title on their device; and it’s based around Android – which could mean endless possibilities down the road (think additional applications).

We’ll end things with a look at the technical specs of the Nook:

• Measures 7.7 x 4.9 x 0.5 inches and weighs 11.2 oz
• E-Ink Vizplex display
• 3.5 inch color touchscreen LCD display
• 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi access and AT&T 3G wireless access
• Free Wi-Fi in all Barnes & Noble stores
• 2GB of internal memory and support for up to 16GB microSD cards
• Rechargeable battery that can be charged via USB or a power adapter. 3.5 hour charge time from wall outlet.
• Read up to 10 days without charging and the wireless turned off
• Load photos to the Nook for personalized screensavers
• Built-in MP3 player
• Built-in mono speaker
• 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack
• Supported file types include EPUB and eReader Formats, PDF files, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, MP3
• micro USB connector

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Barnes & Noble Nook e-Book Reader

OK.. so we’ll all know for sure in a few hours but I thought I’d pass along this tidbit courtesy of the Wall Street Journal (via News.com) about the forthcoming announcement of the Barnes & Noble new e-reader device. We’ve seen the pictures and now we have a name and a supposed price.

According to the Journal, the new B&N device will be called the “Nook” and will be priced at $259. The device will also feature the ability to “lend electronic books to others” which I’m surprised that publishers were actually OK with but I’m sure we’ll find out the exact details shortly.

At $259, we’re talking about a device with the same price point as the entry level Amazon Kindle yet featuring dual displays – a larger electronic ink display and a smaller color touch-screen.

[Check it out via News.com]

Technorati Tags: Barnes & Noble e-reader, Nook, e-reader

Doesn’t it seem like all of a sudden e-book readers are all the craze these days? With the relative success of the Amazon Kindle, the continued push by Sony with the Sony eBook store and Reader devices, and the upcoming Barnes & Noble e-reader announcement, e-books have clearly garnered a great deal of press recently. Now on the heels of the impending B&N announcement comes the “Alex” – a new e-book reader device by a company called Spring Design and based on the Google Android OS.

Similar to what is expected out of the Barnes & Noble e-book reader, the Alex features a dual-screen display design with the upper section being a monochrome electronic paper display (EPD) and the lower section being a color LCD display. Users can read their books, documents, subject matters at hand on the top display and then bring up images, video clips, notes etc related to the subject matter on the lower display.

Other features of Alex include:

• Full Internet browsing with wireless connectivity support over Wi-Fi and 3G networks (EVDO/CDMA and GSM)
• SD card support for data storage
• Provides the web as a “handy reference library” – allowing users to capture and cache web content from their online experience on their LCD display and then also view it on the EPD display
• Insert images, videos, and notes as “web grabs”
• 6 inch E-Ink EPD display and 3.5 inch color display
• Comes with earphones and speakers

Spring Design is currently in conversations with major content partners and plans to release the device to selected strategic partners by the end of the year.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Spring Design, Alex e-book reader, Android e-book reader

If you can’t wait to hear what Barnes & Noble has in store for us in the e-book/e-reader market, then you’ll definitely want to check out Gizmodo’s gallery of leaked pictures of the upcoming B&N e-reader. Here are tidbits about the new device:

• There will be 2 displays – 1 large 6 inch e-ink display with a resolution of 800 x 600 and 1 smaller multi-touch color LCD display with a resolution of 480 x 144 and a 150 dpi resolution.
• The e-ink display is for reading books while the lower multi-touch color display is designed for navigating through book selections
• Buttons for search, home, “BN”, next/previous page
• No word on carrier but Barnes & Noble may go the international route which means supporting GSM

Just a few more days till we know the full details..

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Barnes & Noble e-reader pictures, Gizmodo

Circle October 20th on your calendars folks. Barnes & Noble sent out invitations to the media for a New York-based event on that day – a day most suspect will be the official unveiling of Barnes & Noble’s entry into the e-reader market.

The media has been buzzing about this ever since the Wall Street Journal and Gizmodo reported last Thursday that B&N was planning to enter the market with their own 6 inch touch-screen device based around the Google Android OS to compete against Amazon and Sony. 

While B&N entering the e-reader market isn’t necessarily a surprise, what is surprising is the rumor about the possible use of Android as the OS. This certainly opens the device to many more possibilities in terms of features and specifications. What exactly could we be dealing with here is quite fascinating. Think of it – the device could actually have a useful web browser built in. It could possibly leverage the thousands of applications that are now showing up for the Android OS. The possibilities to what this device could accomplish are possibly endless.

Of course, I might be dreaming here.. so I’ll stop with the second guessing until the day of the announcement. B&N after-all is still in the book/media business so I should keep my expectations at a minimum… (but I can dream right?)

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: B&N, Barnes & Noble

The Kindle just got a bit more attractive folks. Amazon.com announced today they were lowering the price of the Kindle to $259 (down from $299). In addition, Amazon announced a new Kindle model for those of you needing international wireless coverage called the “Kindle with U.S. & International Wireless.” This new Kindle with international coverage is available for pre-order now for a price of $279 at www.amazon.com/kindle

Unlike the U.S. version of the Kindle which supports the Sprint wireless network, the new Kindle with U.S. & International Wireless works with AT&T’s GSM wireless network and as such, is supported in over 100 countries and territories around the world. (yeah I’m not a fan of AT&T 3G wireless either.. grumble). Main features of the new international Kindle device include:

• Measures 0.36 inches thick and weighs just over 10 oz
• 6 inch electronic ink display
• 2GB of memory holds up to 1500 books
• Read for over two weeks with wireless turned off and up to four days on a single charge with wireless on
• Text-to-speech support
• Automatically syncs with Kindle and Kindle compatible devices – syncs customers last page read, bookmarks, notes, and highlights across Kindle with U.S. & International Wireless, Kindle with U.S. Wireless, Kindle DX, and Kindle compatible devices like Kindle for iPhone
• Wirelessly send, receive, and read personal documents in formats such as Word and PDF
• Comes with New Oxford American Dictionary
• Choose from six different text sizes
• QWERTY keyboard allows you to annotate text, highlight, and clip key passages and bookmark pages

The new Kindle with U.S. & International Wireless will be available for shipment to customers in over 100 countries around the world starting on October 19th.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Amazon Kindle, Amazon Kindle with U.S.& International Wireless

Here’s what you need to know about the new eBook readers.

Sony Reader Pocket Edition PRS-300:

• Five inch electronic paper display
• Available in a variety of colors including navy blue, rose, and silver
• Easy to navigate with one hand – fits into a purse or jacket pocket
• Stores approximately 350 standard eBooks
• Up to two weeks of power on a single charge
• Available for $199

Sony Reader Touch Edition PRS-600:

• Six inch touch screen panel
• Menu driven intuitive user interface
• Page turning, highlighting, and note taking with the swipe of a finger or using the included stylus
• Notes can be taken with the stylus or typed using a virtual keyboard. The notes can then be exported and printed out
• Built-in Oxford American English Dictionary
• Five adjustable font sizes
• Memory slots for Memory Stick PRO Duo and SD cards
• Available in red, black, silver for $299

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Sony eBooks, Sony Reader Pocket Edition, Sony Reader Touch Edition

Sure the Kindle DX got all the attention this past week but if you’re more interested in the smaller Kindle 2, then you’ll definitely want to check out the color customization options available through ColorWare.com.  Go to their online customization page, and you’ll be able to custom tailor colors on your Kindle 2 in all sorts of manners – from the main chassis to the back top portion of the device to the keys on the Kindle 2. You name it.

You can send your existing Kindle 2 into ColorWare for a color treatment at a price of $199 or you can purchase a new customized Kindle 2 directly from ColorWare with a starting price of $599. Yes it’s expensive but it’s also oh so pretty…

[Check it out via Chip Chick]

Read this in Arabic, Chinese Simplified, French, and Spanish

Technorati Tags: ColorWare, Kindle 2

Thinking about developing your own e-reader device? Check out E Ink Corporation’s new 9.7 inch display addition to their lineup of AM-300 EPD Prototype Kits. Features of the new 9.7 inch kit include:

• Read in any lighting condition
• Resolution of 150 pixels per inch
• Clarity of newsprint
• Reduce system power consumption by up to 90 percent when compared to traditional LCD displays
• Linux x86 OS
• E Ink API software for Broadsheet
• Sample images
• Open source software drivers and applications with support for MMC cards, Bluetooth, and USB

You can pre-order the new kits right now for $4000 with shipments expected to go out by the end of May.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: E Ink Corporation, AM-300 EPD Prototype kit 9.7 inch display

• Measures just over 1/3 of an inch thick
• Has more memory than the Kindle 2 – capable of storing 3500 books (4GB of storage space total with 3.3GB available to the user)
• Has a larger display measuring 9.7 inches diagonal. Displays up to 16 shades of gray. This is approximately 2.5 times the surface area of the Kindle 2’s 6 inch display.
• The display auto-rotates from portrait to landscape thanks to a built-in accelerometer
• Built-in PDF reader thanks to Adobe technology
• Same 3G wireless modem built right in
• Text-to-speech feature like the Kindle 2
• Measures 10.4 x 7.2 x 0.38 inches
• Built-in stereo speakers
• 3.5 mm audio jack
• 5 way controller for easy navigation
• Charge via USB
• Fully charges in 4 hours
• Read up to 4 days with wireless turned on
• Read up to 2 weeks with wireless turned off

So that’s on the hardware side of things. Yes, the Kindle DX is basically a larger Kindle 2 with a built-in PDF reader and accelerometer.  You can preorder the Kindle DX now at Amazon.com for a price of $489.

Now on the content side of the equation, Amazon has signed three of the top 5 textbook publishers out there in an attempt to make the Kindle DX the preferred way of buying and reading textbooks. The idea for college kids? Replace bulky textbooks with the lightweight/thin form factor of the Kindle 2.

Now to help spur this market segment along, five colleges will launch trial programs this fall where Kindle DX devices will be made available to students. According to the Amazon press release, “schools will distribute hundreds of Kindle DX devices to students spread across a broad range of academic disciplines. “

Our thoughts (or should I say.. My thoughts?)

• It’s pricey.. but we knew it was going to be pricey given the fact that the original Kindle 2 is pricey. Amazon’s basically priced themselves into this position. They can’t risk cannibalizing sales from Kindle 2 – yet they need to make sure Kindle DX does well too. Plus – it’s dangerously close to low end notebook prices. Granted, the battery life and the comfort level isn’t there in a notebook like it is in the DX yet.. a notebook offers more functionality and is a possibly a better bang for the buck in today’s economy
• Love the fact that there’s a built-in PDF viewer now. It’s about time.
• Question to be answered – will kids really latch onto the Kindle DX? The idea of carrying around just the DX instead of full-on textbooks is a great one but is it practical? Many of today’s students carry notebooks with them to class and to the library. The Kindle DX just makes the load lighter but it doesn’t remedy the fact that I have to read a textbook in one hand and write my essay in another device. Why not integrate the two with a single notebook? Something to consider.
• Finally, there’s the potential competition. As Sascha Sagan points out – someone could easily come out with a cool PC design – say Apple’s long rumored tablet device – that would essentially knock the socks off of the Kindle DX. I would much rather carry a large screen iPod touch-like device where I had a full featured web browser, an e-book reader application, the ability to use a touch-screen display, and the potential idea of attaching a keyboard for user input. If that meant it would cost $700 dollars.. OK – I can deal with that because it offers function not available today in a $500 dollar notebook or a $500 dollar Kindle DX.
• I wonder if some Kindle 2 buyers are pissed at the thought that a larger Kindle is now available. Would they have gladly waited for the larger display and forked over additional bucks for that model??

To be fair, I think the Kindle is a great device overall. From concept to look and feel to execution, the Kindle is solid. There’s no doubt about it. However, the main beef is with the pricing. Pricing in my opinion has left the Kindle vulnerable to the competition (assuming it’s executed correctly also).  The question is – will the competition answer in kind and at a lower or more competitive price point? Does Amazon ultimately care? Probably not – especially if it means it can sell more and more e-books.

Ok.. enough of my blabbering – here’s some early looks at the Kindle DX:

• PC Magazine
• News.com
• Gizmodo.com
• Engadget.com
• NYTimes.com

[Check out the press release]

Read this in Chinese Simplified and in French

Technorati Tags: Amazon, Kindle DX

Just wanted to provide additional info on the whole larger Kindle story from the last few days. The folks at Engadget have unearthed additional blurry pictures of the new Kindle (now known as the Kindle DX) and it appears Amazon is set to announce the new device today (Wednesday that is). (I couldn’t help but laugh when I heard the “DX” moniker. Thought about the old days of the 486 DX and SX…). Here are the basics from the article:

• New Kindle DX will have 9.7 inch display
• Built-in PDF reader finally
• Add annotations in addition to notes and highlights
• NY Times will be available for a $9.99 a month subscription – lower than the current $13.99
• Amazon to launch a trial program with select universities to offer textbooks with the larger Kindle devices. Universities involved include Case Western Reserve University, Pace, Princeton, Reed, Darden School at the University of Virginia, and Arizona State
• Several newspapers and magazine publishers will be part of the Kindle DX announcement including NY Times, and Time Inc.

No word on price as of yet but it’ll all be unveiled shortly..

[Check it out at WSJ]

[Check it out at Engadget]

Technorati Tags: Amazon, Amazon Kindle DX, Kindle

The web has been buzzing over the last several days over the possibility that Amazon might release a larger screen form factor Kindle device as early as this week. According to a New York Times article yesterday, people who have been “briefed on the online retailer’s plans” say that the company will introduce a larger version of the Kindle ideally suited for displaying newspapers, magazines, and even textbooks as early as this week.

The bigger question at hand of course is – will such a device save the newspaper industry which has seen subscription rates and advertising revenue plummet as more and more people go to the web for news and information? Will having a device such as this spur you on to subscribe to say, the New York Times – or will you simply use the larger display to more comfortably view e-books?

See – here’s the rub. If I can easily get all of my news content for free on the web – there’s very little incentive for me to subscribe to a news service on Amazon or through Amazon. There needs to be significant added value for me to consider that route.

There’s also another problem. The Kindle is already fairly expensive at $359. If Amazon does come out with a larger display – what would the price point? It can’t possibly be less than $399 – if only because it might cannibalize the Kindle 2 sales. Of course, Amazon could cripple the device in other ways but one would figure the larger display Kindle to be more expensive than the Kindle 2. Ok.. so if we go along those lines, we’re not entering the territory of small notebooks or netbook systems. Again – if I can get my newspaper or magazine content for free on a small notebook, then there’s no real advantage for me to go with the Kindle except for battery life and ease of use factor.

Yes, there’s also a coolness factor with the Kindle but in this day and age, coolness quickly gets overwhelmed by economic practicality.

The fact of the matter remains – newspapers are in trouble and need to adapt quickly. They need to either strip away all free content and force people to pay up for their services or they need to find some new means of revenue. It’s going to be incredibly hard to convince someone that they need to purchase a subscription for some content that they can readily get for free through some other medium.

Now with that said – I welcome a larger Kindle if only because I would love to read books in a larger display form factor.

[Check it out]

Read this in Chinese Simplified and in French

Technorati Tags: Amazon, Kindle

• Thin form factor – measuring just over 1/3rd of an inch thin and weighing 10. oz
• As before, you’ll get 3G wireless connectivity built right into the device
• Get e-books delivered to the Kindle in less than 60 seconds
• Display now features 16 shades of gray for clearer text and sharper images
• 25% longer battery life than the first Kindle
• 20% faster page turns than the first Kindle
• New Text-to-Speech feature – the Kindle will read your e-book, blog, magazine, and newspaper to you
• Measures 8 x 5.3 x 0.36 inches
• 2GB of memory with about 1.4GB available for user content
• Single charge can provide up to 4 days of reading with wireless on. Turn wireless off and you’ll get upwards of 2 weeks
• 3.5mm stereo audio jack with rear mounted stereo speakers
• Supports Kindle (AZW), TXT, Audible, MP3, MOBI, PRC natively, PDF, HTML, DOC, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP (through conversion) file formats
• New 5 way controller for better on-screen navigation

As before, the Kindle 2 doesn’t come with a monthly wireless charge. Amazon pays for the wireless connectivity – you just buy the hardware and the electronics content. There’s certainly a lot to like with the new Kindle 2 and you can read the full feature list here at Amazon.com.

About the only downer is the price of the Kindle 2. While the device is arguably light years better than the first Kindle, $359 is still a hefty price to pay for the device. Customers most likely to purchase the new Kindle include mobile professional constantly on the go or on the road, users who go through books like there’s no tomorrow, and possibly students (though again – it seems a bit expensive for this market). If the price came down by approximately 100 dollars, I could easily see a mass adoption of Kindle 2. For now, the reading elite will likely jump on the Kindle 2 with many others ooohing and ahhing along the side.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Amazon, Kindle 2

After months of rumors and speculations, it appears Amazon is ready to unleash the next version of the Kindle e-reader device. According to the folks at MobileRead.com (who also managed to get some pretty sweet pictures of the device), Amazon will unveil the Kindle 2 tomorrow at 10am in New York. The Kindle 2 will then go on sale on February 24th for a price of $359 though this has yet to be confirmed.

For folks waiting on the new Kindle, it certainly looks like Amazon will have awarded your long wait. From the looks of these press release images, the new Kindle 2 will certainly be one sexy thin device. Just look at how thin it is compared to a pencil!!! My goodness.

Of course, we’re lacking on specifications at this time but we would assume all the features of the first Kindle would be found in this new version. Here’s hoping battery life will be improved. I have to admit – if these pics are legit (and there’s no reason to think otherwise), I would be seriously interested in picking up one of these finally.

[Check it out via News.com]

Technorati Tags: Amazon, Kindle 2, MobileRead

Sony continues to advance their Reader Digital Book product lineup with the introduction of their third generation PRS-700. Featuring a six inch touch-screen display and a 10 oz form factor, the PRS-700 allows users to easily navigate and flip through pages with the swipe of a finger. Users can also search terms within a document or book, create notes using a virtual keyboard, and highlight text with a stylus pen. Other features of the Sony PRS-700 include the following:

• Five pre-set text sizes
• High resolution, high contrast electronic paper display
• Built-in LED reading light
• Supports removable Memory Stick Duo or SD memory cards
• Supports up to 7500 pages of continuous reading on a single battery charge
• Supports multiple file formats such as PDF, Word, BBeB, and other text file formats

The new PRS-700 will be available next month for around $400 dollars and will come with a USB cable, PC software, and a protective soft cover.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Sony PRS-700 Reader Digital Book

Thanks to an insider, the Boy Genius Report received pictures and information on the supposed next version of the Amazon Kindle device (known as the Kindle 2 for now). The new version is slightly longer and wider than the original Kindle and has the following button layout (courtesy of BGR):

“on the right side, the bottoms from top to bottom are: Home, Next Page, Menu, a joystick, and Undo. On the left side, there’s Previous, Page, and Next Page.”

Other notable items – the battery does not appear to be user accessible and there’s no SD slot. Head on over to BGR for more pictures and information.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Amazon, Kindle 2, Boy Genius Report

Sony announced on Thursday that they were opening up their Reader Digital Book to the EPUB XML based format which has gained acceptance among major trade book publishers. The Reader will support both DRM and DRM-free EPUB eBooks in addition to support for DRM protected Adobe PDF eBooks and eBooks from Sony’s eBook Store. Current owners of the Reader PRS-505 will be able to upgrade their eBooks by going to the Sony support site here.

Sony also introduced a new limited edition red PRS-505 model which will be available next month at SonyStyle stores and on SonyStyle.com. The Reader will retail for around $300 dollars.

[Check it out]

Technorati Tags: Sony Reader Digital Book, Limited Edition Red Reader, PRS-505

Are you curious what’s inside the new Amazon Kindle? Well the folks at RapidRepair have published a Take-Apart guide to the Amazon Kindle here. Enjoy the pics!!

[Check it out via Ubergizmo]

Technorati Tags: Amazon Kindle, Take-Apart