Hasta La Gadget!

Pandigital Novel e-reader / handheld hits the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 28 May 2010 19:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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If you’re one of the people around the world buying an iPad today, you might want to check out Apple’s iBooks e-reading app (you might also want to call in sick to work, as you won’t be getting much done today). But when you flip the virtual bookcase to enter the store, you’ll be disappointed: Launch-day is here, but all you can buy in the store outside the US is a pile of dusty public-domain titles. It seems that no deals have been inked with international publishers. UPDATE: The premium iBook Store has gone live in the UK. Spain is still down.

There is an alternative. Kobo, an e-reader app, is now iPad-ready and has stores in UK, Canada, Australia and (coming soon) New Zealand. Those of you outside those countries can still sign up and buy books: Unlike iTunes, Kindle or Barnes & Noble, there are no geographical restrictions. I bought a book from the US store back when Kobo was called ShortCovers and it still works fine.

The reader itself isn’t as glitzy (some might say chintzy) as iBooks, but it is good-looking, clean and functional. Versions are also available for Blackberry, iPhones, Android and even the Palm Pre. Using Adobe Digital editions you can read on the desktop, and using a browser you can even read on the Kobo website.

Once the reader software is taken care of (and Kobo is completely distraction-free, just like it should be) than catalog is the next most important thing. Kobo has a catalog of two million titles. Many of these are free public-domain titles, but there are plenty of new bestsellers and back-catalog books, too, at prices similar to those of Amazon.

Best of all, it’s free, so you can try it out as soon as you realize that iBooks is a big disappointment. It comes with five free books to start you off, too. Oh, and if you really have to, you can customize the bookshelf to use the same glitzy (chintzy) wood-effect you’ll find in iBooks.

Kobo [Kobobooks. Thanks, Sam!]

See Also:

• $150 Kobo eReader: The Real Kindle Killer?
• Kobo E-Reader First on iPad
• Kobo International E-Book Store Launches: Why Amazon Should Be …

In another reversal of plans, Acer has just announced its first e-reader device. The LumiRead will participate in the clear.fi initiative for keeping you constantly in the Acer loop, while also offering WiFi and 3G connectivity options. It looks very much like the tablet we saw teased earlier this morning, coming with a similar integrated keyboard and a smaller 6-inch E Ink display. Announcing a distribution agreement with Barnes and Noble and its one million-book library, China’s Founder, and Germany’s Libri.de, which carries four millions titles, Acer will try to ensure it has a strong selection upon release. It’s also throwing in an ISBN scanner, which will be turning paperbacks into instruments of their own destruction by allowing you to scan a book in for later purchase online. Supported formats are described only as “various,” and there’s 2GB of storage onboard (expandable via MicroSD) to keep things stashed. Expect this new e-reader to show up in Q3 of 2010. Full PR after the break.

Continue reading Acer’s 6-inch LumiRead to offer Barnes and Noble ebooks, ISBN scanner

Acer’s 6-inch LumiRead to offer Barnes and Noble ebooks, ISBN scanner originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 May 2010 07:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Pandigital’s best known for its hard, hard work in the game-changing digital photo frame world, but the company’s feeling a bit froggy of late. It’s latest leap is into the burgeoning e-reader market, and unlike those from Barnes & Noble and Amazon, this one’s sporting a 7-inch LCD — you know, now that Apple has suddenly made that “okay” again. At any rate, the forthcoming Novel boasts a full-color 800 x 600 resolution touchscreen, inbuilt WiFi and dimensions of 5.5- x 7.5- x 0.5-inches. The highlight here is the partnership with B&N, which gives this guy access to the bookseller’s eBookstore, not to mention the ability to share content via LendMe. Pandigital also throws in 1GB of internal memory, an SD / MMC card slot, orientation sensor, and the rechargeable battery is said to be good for a mediocre six hours on a full charge. The $199.99 Novel should be out and about next month supporting PDF, ePUB and HTML formats (yeah, there’s a web browser), and in case you were wondering, it’s based around Android and gets powered by an ARM 11 processor. Did Pandigital — of all companies — just out a remotely interesting e-reader? Yes, yes it did.

Continue reading Pandigital intros 7-inch Novel e-reader, nabs access to B&N eBookstore

Pandigital intros 7-inch Novel e-reader, nabs access to B&N eBookstore originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 May 2010 08:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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ASUS sells tons of laptops through Amazon.com. Amazon happens to offer a Kindle for PC application. Heck, why not team up and pre-install the app on the ASUS netbooks and laptops that are sold through the online e-tailer? Sure makes a lot of sense to us, and apparently it did to both Amazon and ASUS. Starting today, select laptops — including the Eee PC 1005PE and UL30 — will be sold with the e-book app loaded up. Frankly, we’re not the biggest fans of pre-installed software cluttering up fresh screens, but this sort of partnership surely makes sense with certain devices — in particular, convertible tablets that you’d use to read. You know what would also make sense? ASUS preloading some sort of Amazon application on its Eee Pad. That’s just us playing make believe, but it seems like the two companies are certainly talking. We’re set on getting our fill of ASUS tablet news at Computex next week, but in the meantime hit the break for the full Amazon / ASUS PR.

Continue reading ASUS and Amazon team up to pre-install Kindle for PC on netbooks and laptops

ASUS and Amazon team up to pre-install Kindle for PC on netbooks and laptops originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 May 2010 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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