Mar 03

And They’re OFF!

Ok… I’m just going to put up a couple links to new eBook Readers. Why two at a time? They’re coming that quickly. It’s like everyone in the tech industry has been waiting for the release of Kindle 2, because it’s been one after the other ever since.

The latest development in the evolution of eBook Readers is a trend toward touch screens. Rumor has it Kindle 3 will be similarly endowed.

First: Onyx International of China is debuting the Boox eBook Reader at CeBIT 2009 taking place from March 3rd until March 8th in Hannover, Germany. Here’s the link to the Boox story. There’s a list of specifics as well.

Engadget.com has photos and video of Boox here.

When I look at the formats it supports: PDF, TXT, HTML, MOBIPOCKET, EPUB, CHM, PDB, JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP, TIFF, MP3, and WAV, I’m amazed that it was only a few months ago that some of these designers were trying to create proprietary formats. (Nice try, yah?)

Second: iRiver from Japan is planning to release its own eReader. Read the story here. It’s supposed to handle PDF files and use a simple joystick control. The story doesn’t mention price, but it’s got the look of a machine that is intended for a mass-market.

More to come tomorrow. SONY is up to something with their eReader. That baby’s a sweet ride.


Mar 02

I’m sorry, but I have to report this rumor…

kindle_3

Kindle 3?

God! Just when I thought all the Kindle-talk was winding down, yah?

Honestly, there are other eBook Reading devices…

If this rumor is true, it proves that the eBook Revolution is kicking into high gear. (and suggests that Amazon is already feeling the heat…)

Read the story here.


Mar 01

Gadgets and Gizmos out the Ying Yang…

bookreader

Plustek BookReader

Here’s another interesting piece of machinery that can be applied to the eBook Revolution. Plustek has the BookReader, a device that will scan in printed text (your books) and convert it into a lifelike voice (voice options there…).

 At $699 you’ve got to be serious about converting books into MP3 audio files, but the application is perfect for the visually impaired while offering hours of hands-free entertainment for commuters.

The full story is here. Might be time-consuming to scan the books, but worth it, if you’ve got favorites that you don’t want to replace with eBooks, or others that are out-of-print. The literature says it will read PDF files, so there’s a crossover tech to eBooks. Very cool, yah!


Feb 28

Digital Divide Narrows

Author Patrick Carman (wow…mental gap there…at first I thought Eric Carmen…) is flogging a new multimedia book, Skeleton Creek. See the full story here. The children’s ghost mystery is a hybrid that takes the form of an ‘actual’ book that is also an online movie. Both elements depend on the other for the complete experience. It is Carman’s way to keep kids interested in books, and drag some of their net time toward reading.

It’s a great idea, and one that will truly flourish when he offers the book component as a tricked out eBook–something that links out of an eReader and interfaces with an online experience.

I can see this working well for kids and the adult market. This type of interface has been around for some time, perhaps in a less interactive form, with a paperback’s story augmented by online components like clues, illustrations and maps.

I can’t wait to see story ideas like this evolving until the reader is flipping between a hand-held reader and a wall-mounted flat screen. Too cool!

Feb 27

Newspaper Extinction? Not likely…

You can read it and see it all over the place. But that doesn’t make it true.  This morning CNN had a story  about the loss of newspaper jobs and the approaching demise of the newspaper industry. Watch it below. The powers that be blame the Internet for a decline in profitability due to the loss of ad revenues and readership .  

They’re clasping their chests and doing a great Silent Movie death scene. Ahhh! So are they really dying off, or are they just trying to sell newspapers? (Kind of creepy if  you think of it…reminds me of that kid who drove traffic to his web site by advertising his own suicide…)

Or are these crazed corporate giants using the economic downturn to make cuts intended to prop up the next quarter profits for their outmoded business model rather than open their minds and evolve to thrive in the landscape that the new technology is inventing for them. Then a jaded part of me whispers: Perhaps they’re crying poor, hoping to share in some of President Obama’s handouts to unsuccessful business models.

The technology is coming into place that will redefine newspapers and their profitability. See an example of newspaper eReaders here.  The future’s all about communications and information exchange, so newspapers will be there. However, it will be more difficult to monopolize the marketplace and to get their piece of it they’ll have to think outside the columns. Yah?

Feb 26

Sheesh, okay. Just well, another Kindle reference…

Look, you know I have to do this. There’s such a ballyhoo, it wouldn’t be fair to skip over something as important as Gizmodo.com‘s Kindle 2 Review Matrix. You can find it here. Enjoy! Yah?

I promise, soon we’ll all be talking about the next eBook reader out of the blocks… Who would that be, by the way?


Feb 25

An Excellent Option…now we need a Kiosk!

Here’s a nice warm and fuzzy, environmentally friendly meshing of worlds, perfect for anybody who’s nervous about leaving the Paperback Age behind. It’s another fantastic option, yah?

Using print-on-demand technology, the Espresso Book Machine can print a paperback in 3 – 5 minutes. That’s so cool!

espresso

Click for More

I can see this working very well. It will take a bit of thinking, but as long as eBook retailers sell you access to various formats, or if eBook readers get smart enough to convert everything to a format your handheld can eat, it shouldn’t be too complicated. The main point is, eBooks will have to be available in a print-formatted version too. Simple enough, when you consider the number of formats most are already available in.

And it’s a reprieve for book designers, who must have been fearful that the eBook and its nothing fancy, text-o-centric display had them marked for death. Continue reading

Feb 24

Tired of Kindle 2 Talk Yet?

Okay, I’m almost finished with it. (Yah, right!)

Only on Kindle 2

Only on Kindle 2

I might have sounded a bit catty earlier, about Stephen King‘s contribution to the launch of the new Kindle. I don’t want my reservations about his rationale to undercut what I believe to be a sincere effort on his part to embrace the new technology. Mr. King has seen a career of firsts, and none of it was accomplished with him playing it safe.

Having said that, I would like to put an open call out there, to any Kindle 2 owners. His new story Ur is only available on Kindle 2. Amazon’s eBook reading device is not an item I can pop in and snatch off a store shelf, so reading and reviewing Ur will not be possible for me until long after the fun and excitement has gone out of it. So. Please, submit your review here.


Feb 23

Not something Amazon will be happy to hear…

While waiting in line at a coffee shop, I watched an 80-year-old man at a table reading something on his iPhone. The old devil had his specs on deftly flipping through pages…quite comfortably defining his place in the digital age. It really hit home how prepared people are for eBooks and eBook Readers.

It also struck me that Amazon’s got to get into the game. Kindle 2 needs a wider release and a lower price if it hopes to share in the spoils. Yah?


Feb 22

More Kindle 2 talk but…

Kindle 2 talks and apparently it exhibits this controversial text-to-speech function in a voice similar to Tom Cruise’s. A rumor over at Engadget.com suggests it’s based on or was voiced by Cruise.

You can find an analysis of Kindle 2’s voice here at KindleBoards. Give it a listen. What do  you think? Is Amazon.com hoping the Top Gun will make Kindle 2 the Top Reader? Not if iPod has anything to say about it. Yah!