06:46 AM by Katsunami in E-Book General | General Discussions

The one thing I always see with regard to new e-readers is that people want the software to do specific things. One e-reader can have 20 custom fonts, the other has 20 settings for margins, while a third has 15 settings for line height. That sort of stuff. No reader has everything.

I've read that there are some nice reading applications for tablets, and that some people prefer a tablet for readin because of the choice of apps and their customizability.

Let's say, a manufacturer would do something like this:

• Create a line of e-readers: 5 inch, 6 inch, 7 inch, and 9.7 inch.
• Capacitive touch screen
• Front light, 30 settings, from completely off to as bright as a tablet.
• The reader has back/forward-buttons, but with a twist. You get 2 faceplates: one completely out of plastic, hiding the buttons, and a face plate that allows you to press them. (Rubber at the button positions, a clicking mechanism, whatever.)
• NO internal memory. Nothing, zilch. BUT, it will accept SDXC cards up to 2TB.

But most important:

It will run a completely stripped down version of Android, but you won't ever see the operating system. The reader itself would only provide the utter minimal stuff: WIFI connection, handling the front-light, setting page flash (between 0-10); basically, make the hardware usable. (Isn't that what an OS is supposed to do?) Everything, and I mean *EVERYTHING* related to reading would be left to the applications, from choosing reading fonts up to Facebook/GoodReads integration.

The manufacturer of the reader will have a marketplace, but with only one type of applications: reading apps. Anything else is not allowed. Comics, books, PDF's, an internet browser, etc... whatever. People who have a reading app in the Android store could probably port it quite quickly to the e-reader.

Not all reading applications may be free, and some could cost up to $10. The manufacturer itself will have a free reading application in the market, comparable to what a Kindle Paperwhite has to offer now; it won't be installed by default.

If you have only one reading application installed, it will start by default when booting the reader; if you have more than one installed, you can choose which one to start by default, or start none and present you with a choice when starting the device. This way, you could be reading a book in one application, and read a PDF in another.

Of course, this would be a high-end device, with a high-end price: the price will be between $150 and $300 depending on the size.

Would you buy this "Uber E-Reader"?

(People might say: But this is just an e-ink tablet, stripped of everything except a market to install reading applications? Yeah, you'd basically be right. That's why it's an Uber E-Reader, and not a generic tablet.)

06:39 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

Time magazine editor Harry McCracken had a chance to give the new Kindle Paperwhite V2 a spin. His verdict: that it's an "ultra-refined version of what was already the most refined product in its category."

On the hardware side, McCracken experienced that the built-in light works indeed better than in the previous Paperwhite, without the unevenness of the light along the bottom edge of the screen. He cites Amazon saying that the flashing effect while flipping pages is reduced to "as rarely as once per chapter". Unfortunately he doesn't say whether he can confirm this statement in his hands-on test. He does confirm though that the touch screen is more responsive when opening books, turning pages, and performing other touch tasks.

Software-wise, he mentions what we've already learned, the Smart Lookup via X-Ray feature allowing you to learn more about the books that you are reading, the Vocabulary Builder that lets you review previously looked-up words, and the new Kindle Page Flip, easing the process of skimming through the book:

A neat new navigational option lets you scrub backwards and forwards in a book to see other pages without leaving the one you’re on. That’s the closest thing I’ve seen yet to a digital equivalent of one of the most pleasing things about paper publications: how easily they let you flip back and forth between two places. Footnotes also pop up in place now on the page they reference rather than forcing you to bop around.

What's not yet available in the current firmware is the Kindle FreeTime feature, allowing extra restricted profiles for your kids, and the GoodReads integration. Both features McCracken said are aimed to become available in a firmware upgrade by Thanksgiving.

Owners of the first Paperwhite can rejoice, as at least some of the new software features may come to your device as well:

And current Paperwhite owners who do covet the new model’s goodies may eventually get some of them: Amazon says that it hopes to release a software update for the original model, giving it new features that aren’t contingent on the latest model’s upgraded hardware and faster processor.

Related: All-New Kindle Paperwhite V2 (accidentally) unveiled. So what's all new?

05:46 AM by Mort1997 in E-Book Readers | Barnes & Noble NOOK

The HD is selling for £79 for the 8GB and £99 for the 16GB

The HD+ is selling for £129 for the 16GB and £149. I have both and they are lovely to use.

http://uk.nook.com/

03:17 PM by tubemonkey in E-Book General | News

No Key Lime Pie?

The tech giant, which is known for nick-naming its Android mobile operating systems for smartphones and tablets after desserts, has for the first time chosen a brand-name candy for version 4.4 that’s expected to launch this fall: Kit Kat, the chocolate candy bar with the well-known “Gimme a Break” jingle. Kit Kat packaging will show Android’s green robot mascot breaking a Kit Kat bar.

Link: Google names new Android operating system after chocolate bar (The Washington Post)

03:12 PM by avantman42 in E-Book General | News

Amazon have announced Kindle MatchBook, which will launch in October. If you've bought a paper book from Amazon at any time, and the Kindle book is enrolled in the Matchbook program, you'll be able to get the Kindle version $2.99, $1.99, $0.99, or free (price is set by the publisher).

I believe this is something that has been frequently requested by MobileRead users.

Press release

Kindle MatchBook website

02:56 PM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

Yeah that's right, the second post in-a-row about the new Kindle Paperwhite. We're just that crazy! As many of you probably know, by all accounts it wasn't Amazon's intention to unveil its new e-reader today. But thanks to eagled-eyed Mobilereader digiridan, the cat got out of the bag and there was no holding back for Amazon.

By now you're probably asking yourself, is the all-new Kindle really better than the previous model? Yes, absolutely -- at least judging from the specifications:

• Display: 6-inch, 16 grey levels, "Carta e-paper technology", higher contrast, better reflectivity
• Built-in light: Next-gen, unsure what's better
• CPU: 25% faster, resulting in quicker page-turns
• Touch screen: 19% tighter grid, resulting in more accurate touch responses
• Storage: 2 GB internal, free cloud storage
• WiFi: 802.11 b/g/n
• Size: 169 mm x 117 mm x 9.1 mm
• Weight: 206 g
• Price: WiFi-only w/ special offers: $119, WiFi-only w/o special offers: $139, 3G: $189
• Shipping date: September 30 (WiFi-only), November 5 (3G)

The Paperwhite V2 comes with a host of new gee-whiz software features.

• Kindle Page Flip: Makes skimming through books easy without losing your place
• Smart Lookup: Integrates a dictionary with the Kindle's X-Ray technology and Wikipedia
• Vocabulary Builder: Automated easy-to-access list of all words you previously looked up; flashcard study
• In-line Footnotes: Tap to read a footnote without losing your place
• Kindle FreeTime: Extra profiles for kids with restricted title access and tracking of their reading achievements
• Goodreads Integration

We invite you to join the on-going discussions for some serious Kindle analysis!

12:51 PM by digiridan in E-Book Readers | Amazon Kindle

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DOPNK14/ref=fs_clw

Hm, now I can't access that page They are playing with us

10:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

Did you know that libraries pay as much as five times the price you pay for the same e-book? Cory Doctorow recently had a chat with librarians at the annual national conference of the American Library Association, where they were lamenting the fact that libraries had to pay a hefty premium on e-books.

• Libraries pay $60-80 (sometimes more) for a single, newly published e-book
• Libraries have to buy e-books with a proprietary DRM; that in turn requires investing in a proprietary collection-management infrastructure (e.g. OverDrive)
• Despite the additional costs, an e-book can only be lent to one patron at a time. Also, it cannot be sold as used once demand for a title slows down. Another disadvantage: e-books cannot be shared with other patrons through interloans.

Cory mentions the crazy case of HarperCollins, who ruled that an e-book has to be destroyed after it has circulated 26 times.

This has been pitched as having some parallel to the fact that many library books eventually disintegrate and have to be discarded. But this is both wrong and perverse. Wrong because the 26-circulation cutoff bears no relationship to how many times a book can circulate before it falls to bits. It amazes me to think that HarperCollins wants to frame its products as so badly manufactured that they can’t withstand being read 27 or more times. But beyond the factual problems with a 26-circ cap, there is the fundamental perversity of celebrating and importing the limitations of physical media into the digital world. It’s like insisting that electric bulbs be limited to outputting no more than one lumen of light, since that’s all a comparably-sized candle would manage. The fact that books don’t last forever is not a feature to be preserved through the digital transition: it’s a bug, and the sooner we eliminate it, the better.

There is a movement among librarians of the American Library Association to call upon publishers to make their e-books available to libraries at fair prices and fair terms. You can find the campaign here.

Related: NPR - E-Books Strain Relations Between Libraries, Publishing Houses, Author says Libraries "have had their day."