Hasta La Gadget!

It looks like Bookeen may finally be through teasing us — the company is preparing to unleash the Odyssey, a reader sporting its High Speed Ink System. The modified Pearl E Ink screen has been shown off multiple times, playing back video and browsing the web. Now it will finally make the transition from interesting tech demo to actual product. Better yet, the 6-inch, full motion-capable screen has been paired with a touch layer, which means it could deliver a tablet-like experience with battery life closer to a traditional e-reader. Underneath the hood is a an 800MHz Cortex A8 processor from Texas Instruments and a WiFi radio, presumably for downloading content and browsing the web. The Odyssey is expect to start shipping in Europe in the next few weeks, but Bookeen has yet to reveal a price. You can check out the machine translated PR at the source link.

Cybook prepping Odyssey reader with High Speed Ink System screen originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 09 Oct 2011 14:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ready for another new Kindle moniker to remember? Here it comes! “Kindle Keyboard.” That’s the name that was bestowed upon the tried-and-true 6-incher today after Bezos unwrapped a touchscreen model and a low-cost variant that tout no physical QWERTY keys whatsoever. Now, the WiFi-only Kindle is going for as low as $99 with ads (down from $114), while the non-ads edition can be had for $139. Meanwhile, the 3G + WiFi Special Offers edition has fallen from $164 to $139, and the ad-free brother is going for $189. Naturally, all four of ’em are in stock and shipping today if the new blood just didn’t do much for ya.

Continue reading Amazon discounts ‘original’ 6-inch Kindle Keyboard: now starting at $99

Amazon discounts ‘original’ 6-inch Kindle Keyboard: now starting at $99 originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 11:43:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony’s just been showing off its Reader Store for the Android-powered Tablet S and Tablet P, but it hasn’t forgotten its more eye-friendly options. Announced at IFA just now, the self-explanatory Reader Wi-Fi (PRS-T1) claims to be the world’s lightest 6-inch e-reader with an “enhanced” touchscreen — the “enhanced” bit referring to its “Clear Touch Infrared” technology that supports multitouch for pinch-to-zoom, though it’s also bundled with a stylus. At 168 grams (5.93 ounces) light and 8.9mm thin, this device packs a 600 x 800, 16-level gray scale E Ink Pearl display, along with 1.3 GB of usable internal storage plus microSD expansion of up to 32GB.

The built-in 802.11b/g/n WiFi connectivity also lets users wirelessly borrow eBooks from public libraries — a first for e-readers, apparently — in the UK, US, and Canada. As for battery life, a single battery charge will keep digital bookworms busy for up to three weeks with WiFi enabled, or up to a month without WiFi (based on a half-hour reading time per day). Expect this ePub-compatible Reader Wi-Fi to hit the US and Europe in October for around $149, and it’ll come in a color choice of either red, white or black. Press release after the break.

Update: We now have confirmation that this reader is running on a heavily disguised Android (which is somewhat hinted by the buttons, anyway), so yeah, let the rooting begin!

Continue reading Sony’s new Reader Wi-Fi is the world’s lightest 6-inch e-reader with multitouch screen (update: powered by Android)

Sony’s new Reader Wi-Fi is the world’s lightest 6-inch e-reader with multitouch screen (update: powered by Android) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 31 Aug 2011 11:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When it was unveiled back in January, the Story HD, iRiver’s first entry into the US e-reader market, boasted all manner of exciting technologies, including an “HD” display and a souped-up (in e-reader terms) processor. Things have changed in the past six months, thanks in part to new Nook and Kobo devices. The other week, however, iRiver pulled out a pre-release surprise that turned plenty of heads: a partnership with Google Books. Are these features enough to make the company competitive in an already crowded market dominated by the Kindle? Find out the answer to all that and more in the review below.

Continue reading iRiver Story HD review

iRiver Story HD review originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 19 Jul 2011 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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When it first announced the launch of its eReader Touch Edition late last month, Kobo referred to itself again and again as the “David” in a reader market full of “Goliaths.” It’s not difficult to see why — the company’s chief competition in the space is Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Sony, all giants in their respective fields. In spite of overwhelming odds, however, Kobo has managed to stay afloat, and even competitive. True to form, however, Barnes & Noble launched its own device a mere day after Kobo, which for most intents and purposes, looks an awful lot like the eReader Touch Edition. In fact, the devices were seemingly so alike that we created a head to head, in order to see for ourselves precisely what set them apart.

The new Nook also managed to beat Kobo’s device to market, offering a more than worthy competitor to Amazon’s latest. The question with the launch of the Kobo then, is not only whether the David can compete in a market so dominated by the Kindle, but if the eReader Touch Edition has enough to set it apart from the superficially identical Nook.

Continue reading Kobo eReader Touch Edition review

Kobo eReader Touch Edition review originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 13 Jun 2011 14:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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