Hasta La Gadget!

Barnes & Noble might be pushing the Nook as hard as it can, but the retailer has always said it wants to build a reading platform across devices, and it’s making a big step in that direction with the launch of its eReader for iPad app today. The app allows Nook users to download most of their content to the iPad — the books all work, but some periodicals like the New York Times and Wall Street Journal aren’t available yet — and there’s a nice bookshelf view with jacket art and a library search function, which the Kindle app and iBooks don’t have. As with the Nook and other B&N clients, the iPad client supports LendMe for certain titles, but there’s no in-app purchasing — selecting “add books” from the bookshelf view kicks you out to the browser, just like the Kindle app. We’re not sure if this is an Apple restriction or a design decision, but we were told B&N is looking into adding in-app purchasing in a future release.

As for reading, eReader is actually quite flexible — you can customize the page, text, highlight, and link colors any which way you want (we made some hideous combinations), and there are some nice presets themes as well, ranging from “The Printed Page” to an inverted setting called “Night Light.” You can also set books to display using the publisher’s settings, and there are the usual line spacing and justification options as well. The only issues we had were with page turns and rendering — flipping from portrait to landscape too fast would result in some brief wonkiness, and flipping pages too quickly would eventually stall the app and lead to a brief load time. Neither was a deal breaker, but there’s clearly some room for polish here — we’re sure B&N is planning to iterate this rapidly, so we’ll see what happens. All in all, though the eReader app is a worthy competitor for your iPad ebook dollar — as long as iBooks has the only in-app store it’ll remain our favorite iPad reader, but if you’ve already purchased Nook content this is a solid free addition to the ecosystem.

Continue reading Barnes & Noble launches eReader for iPad app, we go hands-on

Barnes & Noble launches eReader for iPad app, we go hands-on originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 27 May 2010 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We knew it was destined for a late-May release, and it looks as if Amazon’s going to make its deadline after all. Following a preview of the 2.5 software update a few weeks back, we’ve got pictorial proof that the new code is being pushed out as we speak. This particular unit is a Kindle DX, and it’s not hesitant in showing off the social networking features we were promised. Feel free to poke around in the gallery below, and then fire up your own Kindle to see if you’ve received an OTA surprise. Let us know either way in comments below, won’tcha?

[Thanks, Andreas]

Amazon’s Kindle 2.5 software update begins to roll out originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 24 May 2010 02:41:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Looks like this one’s been sitting around in the shadows for awhile now, and in fact, we can’t even find the bona fide manufacturer of this here device. Boasting a 7-inch LCD (since when were those deemed fit for reading on?), built-in rechargeable battery, multimedia player, image viewer, optional FM radio, USB 2.0 connector and a user interface that almost looks a wee bit like Android at a glance. Regrettably, there’s no pricing or availability details to be found (nor any indication of an inbuilt wireless module), but we’re guessing the mystery owners here wouldn’t try moving this one for too much.

EB710 e-reader rocks an LCD, intriguing user interface originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 16 May 2010 13:24:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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E-readers as a whole best be watching their backs (or planning a wave of new functions, one), but it’s safe to say that having color displays would give ’em a leg-up on the retina-killing, battery-draining LCD-based alternatives. Plastic Logic is still working to get its first e-reader (the decidedly not color QUE, for those curious) into the paws of consumers, but already the outfit is planning for the next big thing. Achim Neu, Director SCM, recently spoke at the International Electronics Forum, reportedly stating that his company is aiming to “have a manufacturable color display by the end of 2011 and move it into volume production in 2012.” Details beyond that were scarce, but still, 2012 seems a long ways out — if Qualcomm can get its color Mirasol panel into shipping products, there’s a better than average chance that none of this will matter.

Plastic Logic plans 2012 launch for color e-paper display originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 13 May 2010 12:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Continue reading LiSeng Vbook cuts the Entourage Edge down to size

LiSeng Vbook cuts the Entourage Edge down to size originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 21 Apr 2010 18:16:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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