Hasta La Gadget!

It’s one thing to see the Entourage Edge in a controlled demonstration by a company representative, something else entirely in the capable hands on CNET‘s Ina Fried. Ina got down with a prototype of the Marvell-powered, dual-display, 9.7-inch E Ink and 10-inch LCD hybrid with built-in WiFi. The video walkthrough after the break shows that Android-powered resistive touchscreen browsing the web and launching other apps from the familiar Android desktop. The E Ink display lets you read EPUB and PDF files, as you’d expect, in addition to taking notes and manipulating text with the help of an included stylus. You can also move content between the displays and record audio via a pair of mics (one to record the lecture, one to cancel the noise). Unfortunately, Fried says that the device is still buggy and “definitely has the look and feel of a first-generation product.” Sounds like the company has its work cut out in order to launch as planned in February as a textbook / notebook replacement for “typical highschool students” with $490 to burn. Let’s hope they have more luck with that than Amazon did in its early Princeton pilot. Right.

[Thanks, Henry]

Continue reading Entourage Edge dual-screen Android e-reader given lusty hands-on (video)

Entourage Edge dual-screen Android e-reader given lusty hands-on (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 16 Dec 2009 03:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  CNET  | Email this | Comments

The huge popularity of netbooks caught most manufacturers by surprise, and some of those who joined the party late definitely missed out on the most bacony of hors d’œuvres. Now many are eager to sink their teeth into the next two “big things,” e-readers and tablets, and according to Actualitte Packard Bell has one of each coming next year. First up will be an 11.6-inch convertible netbook arriving in February, probably a slightly re-styled version of the Acer 1820PT, which will apparently launch with a netbook-specific content distribution system to push music and movies to its tiny little hard drive. More interesting is word of a color e-reader said to come sometime later in the year. No other details are known, leaving us to wonder who will provide the screen. Samsung, Bridgestone, Plastic Logic, and PVI are all planning to launch color products next year, meaning PB will have plenty of options — assuming it doesn’t just slap a traditional LCD in there and call it a day. That’d be a shame.

Packard Bell said to be planning color e-reader for late next year, convertible tablet too originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 06:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink E-Reader-info  |  Actualitte  | Email this | Comments

Look out, e-reader industry. Here comes Taiwan.

According to a statement released by the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, the Taiwan Cabinet has approved $66 million (NT $2 billion) over the next five years to promote development of the e-publishing industry. The target: secure $3 billion (NT $100 billion) of e-reader revenues for Taiwan by 2013.

According to the Council, Taiwan Premier Wu Den-yih directed the Ministry of Economic Affairs to “assist enterprises involved in the production of
e-readers, including ultrathin ‘e-paper’ displays, to develop and
commercialize critical technologies, integrate resources and secure
patents.”

 The government, Wu Den-yih added, should help those e-readers “conform with
international and cross-strait standards so as to fully realize their
potential in the global marketplace.”

The government will put forward a four-fold strategy, according to the statement: enhance the global competitiveness of Taiwan’s e-publishing industry;
promote technological innovation to strengthen the industry’s
“ecology;” encourage the expansion of Chinese-language digital content;
and foster a superior “digital reading society” among Taiwan’s citizens.

There was a definite moment of utter pre-launch confusion there, but it looks like the Barnes & Noble Nook is indeed shipping to customers — reader Peter just sent in this photo of his cold chilling on a desk. We’ll see if B&N can crank out the rest of its pre-orders before the holidays, but at least there’s hope now — and we can always tell you where Peter lives if that doesn’t work out.

[Thanks, Peter]

Barnes & Noble Nook now arriving to customers originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Dec 2009 17:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |   | Email this | Comments

It’s been a season of e-readers, that’s for sure… and while Foxit is a smaller player in the scene as compared to the Nook or the Kindle, it’s got some news of its own to boast about today. That’s right, Foxit’s launching an online bookstore all its own. The aptly named eSlick Store has been launched in partnership with Fictionwise LLC (a company which is rather interestingly owned by Barnes & Noble), and currently contains about 60,000 books. If you haven’t forgotten — Foxit’s also recently released a firmware update which enables its support of EPUB. Full press is after the break.

Continue reading Foxit busts out ebook store for eSlick owners

Foxit busts out ebook store for eSlick owners originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 09 Dec 2009 11:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink   |  eSlick Books  | Email this | Comments