Hasta La Gadget!

Onda VX560 looks like a slate, acts like a PMP, outputs 1080p originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Apr 2010 10:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen so many e-book readers of late that it’s difficult to get excited about another, but Kobo’s angle here might just make the Kobo eReader worth a look. Kobo’s game is ecosystem, and in fact it doesn’t plan on making a big splash in the actual e-reader market, since it’s primarily about building branded software and delivering branded e-book stores for others, including manufacturers (like Plastic Logic), and booksellers (like Borders). Still, the 6-inch E Ink reader is fine hardware in its own right, with quality plastics throughout, a nice patterned rubber back, and a big friendly d-pad for paging through books. The device is actually laid out to mitigate accidental button presses — even the menu buttons labelled on the front are actually located on the side of the device. As far as software and capabilities, the device is utterly barebones, but at least it keeps its aesthetics throughout, and everything seems responsive and intuitive. There’s no 3G onboard (you sync your e-pub titles with a desktop app over USB), no specific word on storage (our guess is in the 1GB to 4GB range), and there don’t seem to be any other activities available to reading books. Hopefully you’re into that sort of thing, and Kobo at least pre-loaded 100 public domain titles to get you started. The unit will be sold at Borders this summer for $149, preceded by Indigo Books & Music in Canada in May.

Meanwhile, Kobo isn’t neglecting its devices strategy. It already has BlackBerry, iPhone, Android, Mac, and PC (and some others we’re likely forgetting), but it’s also showing an iPad app that looks all ready to go. There aren’t many details about it, but like all things Kobo it looks pretty single purpose and slick — check out the screenshots below.

Editor’s note: due to the horrible lighting conditions at the CTIA event we were attending, we had to photograph the device under the warm lights of a meat-cutting station, hence the incongruous backdrop of these hands-on photos.

Kobo eReader is Kobo’s $149 E Ink play for Borders, we thumb through its virtual pages originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 24 Mar 2010 13:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It must be getting close to April 3rd because the iPad news is hotting up. Today we get our first glimpse at Amazon’s free Kindle app for the iPad. We’ve also got a Barnes & Noble iPad app on the way, courtesy of a report in the New York Times, that has been completely redesigned by a team of 14 developers working since January to allow for custom fonts in multiple colors and quick page turns with finger swipes. The Kindle app, meanwhile, features a redefined core screen and reading experience, slow page turns, and new ways to view your eBook library. One view, pictured above, presents your books as large icons against a silhouetted figure under a tree — the sun changes position in accordance to the time of day. Of course, the app also gives you access to the Kindle bookstore (assuming Apple approves) and saves your reading position so that you can pick up any Kindle app (or device) and continue reading right where you left off.

Fortunately, Amazon’s Kindle App will be targeting tablets beyond the iPad. We’re also hearing that Skiff is almost certainly headed to Apple’s tablet, and we suspect as many competitors as possible given the plethora of devices demonstrated to us at CES. So seriously, we ask you, in an age where content is king, are you really going to buy an eReader dedicated to a single store?

Update: The Barnes & Noble app, not the Kindle app, is being worked on by a team of 14 developers.

[Thanks, Jason D.]

Kindle for iPad and tablets makes the scene originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 02:38:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Well it’s about time, Spring Design! After missing its February ship date, the company is finally ready for you to whip out the plastic and pre-order its Alex — that dual-screen, Android-based ereader we liked so much at CES. While you can shell out the $399 today, you’ll still have to wait until mid-April for the mailman to drop off the package. We’d like to say the wait stops there, but we’ve also learned that early buyers won’t have access to the promised Borders eBook store until June. When we chatted with Spring Design CEO Priscilla Lu last week she confirmed that Borders will officially launch its store in the “June time frame,” which will be around the very same time that the 3G version of the Alex will be ready to hit the market — at least there’s access to Google Books and an micro-SD card slot for sideloading in the meantime. With so much coming down the pike it may be worth waiting a bit more time for this one, but our own Alex arrived just last night so no matter what it’d behoove you to wait a few days for our review before you hit the source link to pre-order.

Update: Well, this is odd. Even though this news hit the wires today, the shop page on Spring Design’s website is definitely non-functional right now. Instead, you’ll see a message to check back soon. We’ll keep doing just that until we see signs of life… or hear otherwise.

Update 2: And we’re back…the pre-order page is finally up!

Spring Design Alex finally up for pre-order, Borders eBook store launching in June originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 16 Mar 2010 08:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Is it an Android tablet? An e-reader? Just a sweet gadget with two screens? Truth is the Entourage Edge is a little bit of everything, and that’s exactly why we’ve been so intrigued with the “dualbook” since we fondled it at CES. Finally ready to make its shipping debut, the $499 dual screen device is aimed at students, but really it’s for anyone interested in a combination 9.7-inch E Ink reading / note-taking experience and a 10.1-inch Android web tablet. It’s sounded very cool to us for quite a while, but there’s always a difference between hype and reality. Does the Edge live up to its promise or attempt to do too much? The only place to find out is after the break in our full review.

Continue reading Entourage Edge review

Entourage Edge review originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 12 Mar 2010 15:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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