Sep 20

Tablets, Printers, eBooks and Bandits!

Hewlett-Packard is taking things to a new level offering a $399 all-in-one Photosmart eStation that includes a web-browsing tablet. The tablet comes with WiFi and 7-inch diagonal screen pre-loaded with Barnes and Noble eBookstore, Facebook and music player among other Apps. Read the Seattle Times post for pictures and video here.

And, our friend Jorgen dropped off a link to a Futurebook.net story about moves in the publishing industry that might start a dangerous climb in the price of eBooks as publishers again chortle over the idea of adopting the expensive agency pricing model for eBooks.

It’s a great idea if they want to encourage piracy and file sharing. But the truth is the move is nothing short of a money grab. Sadly, the consumer pays for this needless manipulation of the market. (At least until the black market gets into the swing of it.)

Sep 19

Blio – Free eReader launches September 28

We talked about the Blio eReader platform way back in January when it was announced at the 2010 Consumer Electronics show.

Now Singularity Hub says Blio creator K-NFB announced the September 28 release of the long-awaited Free eReading program that they’re calling a game changer.

The full color Windows software allows you to read books as they were originally formatted with options for displaying on various devices that use Android and iOS systems (iPhone, iPad, etc).

Check out the full story here.

Sep 18

Barnes and Noble Shareholder Drama

The BookSeller.com reports on Barnes & Noble C.E.O. William J. Lynch urging shareholders to reject a bid by billionaire investor Ron Burkle to take controlling interest in the retail book giant’s business, a move deemed unnecessary with expectations of $1-billion in eBook sales projected by 2013.

Read the full story here.

Sep 17

Full Color eBook Reader: the Sharper Image Literati

PCMag.com introduces us to the Sharper Image Literati, a full color eBook Reader that will be out in December at more than 7,000 locations including Macy’s, Bed Bath and Beyond, Kohl’s and many, many more for a rumored price of $159. PCMag writer David Pierce reports on his time with the 7-inch LCD Literati here.

More fantastic news for the eBook Revolution. I’ve always said that people have to get their hands on an eBook Reader to make the jump from paper. Honestly, it’s as simple as that, and I think this Christmas is going to outpace all predictions in sales and mainstream adoption of the devices.

Sep 16

eBook Market is Hot. eReading is Cool!

Misty Harris of PostMedia News has a story at the Montreal Gazette that makes some suggestions about the future of the eBook Revolution, nails down some interesting motivations for the move to digital publishing and gives solid reasons for the resurgence of reading in a time when 3-D movies and television stand poised to spoon feed us art, entertainment and experience.

Could it be that eBooks are the perfect bridge between the passively interactive digital world and the personal social experience? Explosive sales of eBooks and the devices that read them are telling us that reading is an interactive experience worth working for.

Sep 15

Amazon Kindle Takes Jab at Apple iPad in New Commercial

Nice to see some friendly competition. Check out the video below. The eBook Revolution is coming of age.

Sep 14

Kindle Quality Issues Raised at ZDNet

Jorgen dropped off a link to a ZDNet story about the quality of eBooks available for the Amazon Kindle. While I think the criticisms in the piece apply specifically to technical and graphic-dependent texts, they can be applied to the greater mainstream fiction titles as well. The ‘re-flowable’ text form that makes the Kindle (and other eBook readers) possible, also alters the look and navigability of traditional paper books. While I think this is a case of growing pains, it could suggest some urgency to eBook sellers, since the price of an eBook should reflect the quality of the product.

Jorgen added that the author of the post failed to mention: the Kindle typeface cannot be changed, the user interface leaves something to be desired and Kindle’s eBooks come in a proprietary format that cannot be read on other devices.

Sep 13

A good argument for eBook Readers in schools.

Here’s a link to a NYDailyNews.com story that successfully argues the case (to me anyway) in favor of school boards supplying eBook readers to students. On the practical side, the kids won’t have to lug those big textbooks around, but by employing digital technology, the textbooks could be constantly updated and kept current. (So the schools do not have to invest in expensive books that contain information with a shelf-life.)

There’s a lot more to the story here.

Sep 12

New Kindle 3 Update Now Available

GoodeReader.com reports an update to the Amazon Kindle 3 software now available will make it possible for users to create accounts through the eBook Reading device.

Kindle owners can get their updates here.

Sep 11

Win for the eBook Consumer

Don’t take this as an indication that the war is over, but it’s a ceasefire that will greatly benefit the consumer.  Suite101.com says Best Buy is going to sell both Amazon Kindle 3 and Barnes and Noble’s Nook.

Side by side on the shelf, you’ll be able to compare these fantastic eBook reading devices. Anyone who owns an eBook reader will agree that this is a huge opportunity for the eBook Revolution ranks to swell, because once you hold an eBook reader in your hand, you’ll have a hard time letting it go.

Get the full story here.