Hasta La Gadget!

We know that some of you chaps are still waiting for your Barnes & Noble Nook to arrive, but by now, we’re hoping that the vast majority (read: all) of you that were jonesing for one can finally say that yours is in-hand. For those that got one during the madness that is the holiday rush (or yesterday… that works too), we’re interested to know how you’d do things differently. Are you kosher with the dual-screen approach? Is the user interface smooth enough? Would you tweak the e-book buying process? Do you wish you would’ve held off for some magical Mirasol-based device to hit “later this year?” Be sure to toss out your opinions in comments below, but make sure you think before you type — the Nook sees and hears all, don’tcha know?

How would you change Barnes & Noble’s Nook? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 23:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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LG says it’s launching a product to ‘compete with Apple and Amazon,’ maybe by April originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Feb 2010 04:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Love your Kindle? How about your Sony Reader? Good then lean in close because your electrophoretic display (EPD) maker wants to have a word. Prime View International (PVI) chairman Scott Liu says that his company (the owners of E Ink) will be introducing a wide variety of new e-reader displays this year including color, flexible, and touchscreen EPDs. PVI also says that response times have been improved enough to allow for animation support on products in 2010. Of course, flip books provide animation as well but we wouldn’t want to use one for any considerable amount of time — but let’s wait and see what they have before coming to a conclusion.

Interestingly enough, PVI says that it’s developing pressure touch sensors that sit behind the display rather than using conventional touch-panels that can obscure the display’s brightness. Funny, that sounds a lot like the Touchco technology just purchased by Amazon two days ago. Kindle 3, we’re waiting… unfortunately for Amazon, the rest of the industry isn’t.

Kindle display maker PVI promises touchscreens, color and flexibility in 2010 models originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The pair of Samsung-borne e-book readers we espied at CES just became a trio. E6 and E101, please give a round of applause your new on-screen brother, the E61 (pictured next to Kindle). What sets this guy apart from the rest is a physical QWERTY keyboard, but otherwise boasts a 6-inch, 600 x 800 resolution screen and all other amenities found in the E6, including a removable battery should you find yourself thousands of pages into a book and no charger in sight. PC Professionale was on hand to get hands on with the device, and we also spotted a touchscreen keyboard on the E101 — nothing to write about, but it’s good seeing just how we’ll be navigating the dictionary when needed. No word on its release date, so for now we’re gonna assume it falls under the same “early 2010” timeframe we heard with the other two.

Samsung E61 e-book reader outed, brings physical QWERTY keyboard to lineup originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 04 Feb 2010 17:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In what we’re hoping bodes well for future Kindle iterations, Amazon‘s pulled out its credit card and picked up New York-based startup Touchco, who specializes in — you guessed it — touchscreen technology. The company will be merged with Lab126, a.k.a. the Kindle hardware division. Here’s why we’re excited: the startup claims its interpolating force-sensitive resistance tech can be made completely transparent, works with color LCDs, and can detect “an unlimited number of simultaneous touch points” as well as distinguish between a finger and stylus. Current cost estimates put it at less than $10 per square foot, which The New York Times says is “considerably” less expensive than the iPad / iPhone screens. We’re not expecting to see immediate results with this acquisition, but given the proliferation of touch in the latest batch of e-book readers, it’d be foolish of Amazon not to join in on the fun. Ready for the Kindle 3 rumor mill to start up again?

Amazon buys touchscreen startup Touchco, merging with Kindle division originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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