Hasta La Gadget!

Pandigital’s contributions to the e-reader market may have been largely forgettable thus far, but that hasn’t stopped the company from churning out new models and hoping something sticks. The latest is the Planet, a 7-inch, Android-based reader that just passed muster with the FCC. According to the filing, it’ll connect to Barnes & Noble’s e-book store and come bundled with various apps, including Facebook, QuickSuite Viewer, and — surprise! — virus protection. And though it’ll run some unspecified version of Android, you’ll have to download apps through the third-party store SlideMe, since the e-reader predictably won’t have Market access. Rounding out the spec list are a WiFi radio, HDMI output, and front- and rear-facing cameras. No word on pricing or availability, but let’s just hope it’s less buggy than some other readers Pandigital has made.

Pandigital’s 7-inch Planet e-reader hits the FCC with Android, virus protection originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 17 May 2011 03:58:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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We’ve seen plenty of dual-screen devices over the past couple of years, and they never fail to make us a little sentimental for Microsoft’s stillborn Courier concept. That goes double for this reader device, which made an appearance at this week’s CHI conference in Vancouver, seeing as how Microsoft Research apparently played a role in its development. But this gadget, presented by the University of Maryland’s Nicholas Chen, is clearly its own beast — and it’s an awesome looking one at that. The reader actually only has one screen, but it can connect wirelessly with other units, letting the users do things like send links between devices. It will also clip magnetically to another unit, so you can look at two pages of the same document at the same time, just like one of those oldfangled book-type things. Fans of awkward intros, check out the video after the break.

[Thanks, Winston]

Continue reading Microsoft Research-backed e-reader prototype can’t keep its text to itself (video)

Microsoft Research-backed e-reader prototype can’t keep its text to itself (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Sat, 14 May 2011 01:55:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It seems Fujitsu’s got a thing for morphing PCs. Way back in 2006, we saw this mysterious tri-fold concept, which was rumored to be making the rounds inside Fujitsu R&D, and now the outfit’s short-listed this déjà-vu-inducing transformer for its 2011 “Life with Future Computing Award.” The Flexbook, designed by Hao-Chun Huang, features a foldable 21:9 touchscreen and similarly flexible keyboard that allow its users to switch from laptop to tablet to book-like e-reader. It’s also been designed to sport a number of interchangeable sleeves in a Benetton-esque array of colors and patterns. It might have seemed impractical five years ago, but with convertibles coming of age, we’d say the Flexbook isn’t really all that far out.

Flexbook concept serves up candy-coated convertible originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 May 2011 18:16:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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How do you solve a problem like lighting a Mirasol display? Sure, the technology provides something of a comprise between traditional E Ink displays and tablet LCDs, with full video and color, low power consumption, and the ability to be viewed in bright sunlight, but it still has some decided drawbacks: like a lack of backlighting. Qualcomm showed off a simple and elegant solution at this week’s CES on the Hill, essentially embedding a book light into the device, lighting it from the front — it’s not the first time we’ve seen an e-reader arrive at this answer, but still, sometimes the easiest solutions are the best. The prototype shown off in DC this week had buttons on the rear for adjusting brightness, though according to The Digital Reader, Qualcomm will also be showing off a device with an ambient light sensor in the near future. The technology should be on store shelves this fall — no word whether the device is capable of yelling at you for “ruining your eyes” by reading in the dark.

Mirasol display gets lighting solution for reading alone at parties, bars originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 12 May 2011 11:36:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It’s not often that we get word of a new gadget by way of an SEC filing, but Barnes & Noble has broken with tradition with an 8-K report that reveals its intentions to introduce a new e-reader. The form, filed earlier today, says that the company “indicated it expects to make an announcement on May 24, 2011 regarding the launch of a new eReader device,” and goes on to say that the form was filed “solely to satisfy the requirements of Regulation FD.” Said regulation was instated back in 2000 to address concerns over insider trading. All that sounds good to us, but we wish there was a clause that required them to include a spec sheet. Considering the Nook Color just got Froyo, is it possible we’ll be seeing a Honeycomb version come the 24th? It looks like we’ll just have to wait and see.

Barnes & Noble to release new e-reader, according to securities filing originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 04 May 2011 20:12:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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