Nov 17

Canada gets International Kindle support, no longer feels inferior to Trinidad and Tobago

Posted in: amazon, amazon kindle, AmazonKindle, canada, e reader, e-book reader, E-bookReader, kindle, Today's Chili
Good news for our Canadian brethren! While the realization that you’d been excluded from the International Kindle may have angered you, or frightened you, or engendered feelings of shame or lust, all hope is not lost! We have just got word that Amazon has added your fine nation to the list of countries it will now ship the beloved e-reader to. And if that ain’t enough, a smattering of your native content is being offered, included a couple of publications that sound exotic and fanciful to American ears: The Globe and Mail and The National Post. Sound like something you’d like to get into? Yours for $250 USD (roughly $265 CDN). Hit the read link to get started.

[Via Boy Genius Report]

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Canada gets International Kindle support, no longer feels inferior to Trinidad and Tobago originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:54:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 16

Sony offering ePub upgrade / trade-in program for PRS-500 e-reader

Posted in: e reader, e-book, e-book reader, E-bookReader, firmware, firmware update, FirmwareUpdate, sony, Today's Chili, upgrade
Sony’s already made its commitment to the ePub e-book format fairly clear, but it does still have a lingering problem with some older e-book readers that don’t support the format. While some of those are beyond hope, the company does now have an upgrade available for the PRS-500, although it’s not quite as simple as you may hope. Turns out you actually have to send your reader in to Sony to receive the firmware update, which is completely free of charge and should take less than 14 days. For those looking to make a clean break with the past, however, Sony is also offering a trade-in program for the PRS-500, which will give you either $50 or $75 off the new Reader Pocket or Touch editions. Hit up the link below for complete details on both options.

[Via jkOnTheRun]

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Sony offering ePub upgrade / trade-in program for PRS-500 e-reader originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 14:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 10

Dual-screen enTourage eDGe ebook reader gets a little hands-on time

Posted in: Android, e reader, e-book reader, E-bookReader, Google, hands-on, pics, pictures, reader, Today's Chili

We’re still reserving our doubts about the viability of the enTourage eDGe — after all, at $490 you can buy yourself a respectable netbook and a halfway decent ereader for the appropriate occasion — but we won’t say that we’re not interested. Just under a month after it hit the scene, the dual-screen device has landed (in prototype form) over at Gearlog, and while some of the features weren’t functional, the physical build shouldn’t change much when it goes final. At first glance, the whole thing just looks a bit dated, but then again, we’ve still got the ultra-fresh Nook on the brain. Hit the read link to have a look yourself, won’t you?

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Dual-screen enTourage eDGe ebook reader gets a little hands-on time originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 09

Dulin’s Books rolls out PocketBook 360, 301+ ereaders in the US

Posted in: e reader, e-book, e-book reader, E-bookReader, Today's Chili
Upstart company you’ve never heard of suddenly selling not one but two ebook readers in the US? Yeah, these are rebadge jobs, but at least one of ’em — the PocketBook 360 — is a slightly new variation on a theme. From the looks of it, this one is a new / different version of an ereader most recently seen under the Mentor brand, and packs a 5-inch Vizplex display, 512MB of internal memory, a microSD card slot for expansion, a Linux-based OS, your choice of black or white color options and, of course, support for a full range of ebook formats (including EPUB). The company’s PocketBook 301+, on the other hand, is seemingly the same model seen as the Foxit eSlick and Hyper Gear ereader, and includes the same EPUB support, along with a slightly larger 6-inch Vizplex display, and some expanded media playback and game options. Look for it to set you back $275, while the PocketBook 360 runs $240. If neither of those suit you, an additional, stylus-equipped Boox model is also promised “soon” — and, of course, is mighty familiar.

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Dulin’s Books rolls out PocketBook 360, 301+ ereaders in the US originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 05

Sungale’s 7-inch Cyberus ID700WTA is neither a PMP nor an ereader, really

Posted in: e reader, e-book reader, E-bookReader, PMP, reader, Today's Chili

Sungale isn’t exactly the biggest, most well-known name in consumer electronics, but it’s sure trying to make a run with the big boys. A few months after introducing its own WiFi digiframe, the company is hitting back with a hybrid ereader / PMP device that just seems to be caught somewhere in the middle. Boasting a 7-inch color LCD display (800 x 480), the Cyberus ID700WTA can handle most popular multimedia and ebook formats — from PDF to DivX, it’s (pretty much) all covered. It also touts integrated WiFi, support for streaming media from a home network and a built-in clock / calender. There’s also the ability to fetch “online news, weather reports, stock prices and charts, maps and traffic routes, YouTube clips, internet radio, Picasa and Gmail,” so we’re going out on a limb here and suggesting that some sort of web browser or cadre of inbuilt apps are also included. It’s available now around the web for $279, and yes, that snazzy leather case is bundled in.

Continue reading Sungale’s 7-inch Cyberus ID700WTA is neither a PMP nor an ereader, really

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Sungale’s 7-inch Cyberus ID700WTA is neither a PMP nor an ereader, really originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:21:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 05

Hyper Gear ereader encrypts files, keeps documents safe from prying eyes

Posted in: e ink, e reader, e-book, e-book reader, E-bookReader, reader, security, Today's Chili

Haipagia’s ¥39,800 ($437) Hyper Gear ereader may just be a rebadge on the surface, but the all-too-familiar exterior conceals a rather unique software package underneath. Boasting a 6-inch display with an 800 x 600 resolution, the reader includes an encryption function that can wrap your files in DRM and password protect whatever you like. If the device gets stolen, you can then rest easy knowing that files won’t disclose themselves to evil eyes even if ripped from the unit’s internal memory. Admittedly, something like this is well suited for enterprise and academic environments, but we’re guessing the paranoid in attendance are also taking notice.

[Via Best Tablet Review]

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Hyper Gear ereader encrypts files, keeps documents safe from prying eyes originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 05 Nov 2009 03:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 03

Spring Design Alex comes out to play and show off Marvell’s Armada chip

Posted in: e reader, e-book, e-book reader, E-bookReader, Today's Chili

You’d think a pending lawsuit and a grainy official video would be enough exposure for one little dual-screen e-book reader, but Marvell’s decided to bring out Spring Design’s Alex as a way of showing off their new Armada chip, which claims a faster three frames per second refresh rate along with the usual assorted reductions in cost and power consumption. Maximum PC got the opportunity to see the Alex first-hand at the meeting, and note that while it’s definitely thicker than the kindle (blame goes to the larger battery and second screen, naturally), it’s a smart little device. Hit up the read link for more pics.

Read – Alex hands-on
Read – Marvells Armada: custom designed ARM SoCs break 1GHz

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Spring Design Alex comes out to play and show off Marvell’s Armada chip originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 21:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 03

Spring Design vs. Barnes & Noble: all the nooks and crannies

Posted in: Android, e reader, e-book, e-book reader, E-bookReader, lawsuit, legal, nook, Today's Chili

So we followed up with Spring Design to figure out what exactly its relationship with Barnes & Noble had been during the development of the Nook and why the company was suing, and, well, it’s looking like B&N played some dirty pool here. You’re looking at the actual NDA signed by Barnes & Noble and Spring Design, wherein each party agreed to keep their secrets… secret. After signing the agreement, Spring Design showed the Alex dual-screen ebook reader and associated marketing materials to B&N execs all the way up B&N CFO Kevin Frain and B&N.com president William Lynch, who said he was “looking forward” to a partnership. Soon after that, Spring implies that all contact stopped until Barnes & Noble announced the Nook. Lawsuit time!

Here’s where it gets tricky, though — the NDA contains pretty standard language specifically allowing both B&N and Spring Design to walk away from each other and develop competing products, so long as they don’t use any of the confidential information they learned under NDA. Without knowing exactly what Spring Design showed to B&N and how much of that influenced or is included in the Nook (which Barnes & Noble currently won’t let anyone touch), we can’t say much about how this one’s going to play out, but for right now we’re looking at a huge corporation bringing out an Android-based ebook reader with dual electronic paper and touchscreen LCD displays just months after being shown the same concept by a three-year-old startup, and that’s not exactly a warm and fuzzy bedtime story. We’ll see what happens next — Barnes & Noble, you have anything to say?

Gallery: Spring Design vs. Barnes & Noble complaint

Gallery: Spring Design vs. Barnes & Noble NDA and exhibits

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Spring Design vs. Barnes & Noble: all the nooks and crannies originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 18:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 03

Marvell teams with E Ink for turnkey ereader processor

Posted in: e ink, e reader, e-book, e-book reader, E-bookReader, Today's Chili

And so it begins. If you had any doubts whatsoever that the ereader battle was in full effect, let this introduction take all of that worry away. Marvell and E Ink have tag-teamed in order to announce a “highly integrated” ereader processor that’ll be made available in “turnkey platforms” aimed at the booming ebook reader market. The ARMADA package includes a 166E application processor, WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G modem, and more broadly, the two have agreed to cross license epaper “timing controllers and system platforms,” which may or may not be the cutest, sweetest thing we’ve ever heard. The goods are expected to be ready for readers in 2010, which means that buying a Kindle or Nook today is guaranteed to cause you all sorts of pain when the next best thing ships within twelve months.

[Via Internet News]

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Marvell teams with E Ink for turnkey ereader processor originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Nov 01

Creative working on Zii-based MediaBook with color touchscreen, e-book slant

Posted in: e reader, e-book, e-book reader, E-bookReader, Today's Chili

What’s an e-book without the e-ink? So very much, according to Creative, who just dropped word of an upcoming “MediaBook” device (which will undoubtedly look nothing like this mockup above). It sounds a bit more like a PMP to us, with “video, pictures, text and services,” and a “media-rich experience” on the table, but Creative is also apparently working with publishers for content, with an obvious emphasis in Singapore sources, where Creative already does e-learning work. There’s no word of what it’ll look like, but it’ll be a large touchscreen of some sort, so it sounds like we’ve got another slate on our hand. Any differentiation might come from having Zii under the hood and Creative’s own particular approach to content for this device, but there’s not really enough to get excited about at this point.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in]

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Creative working on Zii-based MediaBook with color touchscreen, e-book slant originally appeared on Engadget on Sun, 01 Nov 2009 02:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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