Aussies rejoice - e-book hardware on sale in this country

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Thanks for the link. I wonder why they didn't mention MobiPocket in the article. Currently the only products that run Microsoft Reader are hardware using Microsoft OSs.

Dale

My honest opinion is that your comment "Reporters are not too technical" might apply here. "MobilePocket" may have had the reporter saying "Who's a what now?", whereas "Microsoft" and "Acrobat" are more reporter-friendly and consumer-friendly. That is, the omission might be more by an assumption of journalistic- and consumer-awareness than by any actual absence of compatibility with the mystery product.

Just a thought. I've million of 'em; some of them even coherent.

Cheers,
Marc

[Nate the great]

If they really come out with a device that reads LIT, that would be interesting. I wonder if Dymocks will ship it to the US? If not, I might need someone in AU to buy one for me and ship it.

[mrsp]

This news has just made my day. And for Christmas too!!! Yesterday I was so depressed at seeing what the Kindle was like and knowing it wouldn't be coming here. Hubby has started accusing me of being overly obsessed with ereaders but he knows what to get me for Christmas to fix that

I'm a little nervous as to what the price will be but hopefully they will keep it under $AU500 as otherwise I think it would be a tough sell for them.

[jbenny]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

If they really come out with a device that reads LIT, that would be interesting. I wonder if Dymocks will ship it to the US? If not, I might need someone in AU to buy one for me and ship it.

Technically, I don't see any reason that someone couldn't incorporate LIT support into an existing reader. The compression used is LZX. You would also have to handle the DRM. Both of these are handled by ConvertLIT, so I don't see why a reader program couldn't do it on the fly. And there is no reason any of this couldn't be done on a non-Windows platform.

The only real potential problem is legal. Would MS sue you into oblivion if you added LIT capablilty to your software?

Actually, I don't understand why MS themselves haven't ported Reader to other non-Windows platforms. The software is actually quite nice for reading. It is a shame that it is not more widely available. And if I were really dreaming, it would be even better if MS Reader could read other ebook formats as well as LIT.

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by Nate the great

If they really come out with a device that reads LIT, that would be interesting. I wonder if Dymocks will ship it to the US? If not, I might need someone in AU to buy one for me and ship it.

Nate, I believe Dymocks will ship books to the US from their online store, but, of course, I couldn't say for certain whether they would ship this device there (I can't see why not, but, you know, company policy can be a funny thing... ).

Cheers,
Marc

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by jbenny

Technically, I don't see any reason that someone couldn't incorporate LIT support into an existing reader. The compression used is LZX. You would also have to handle the DRM. Both of these are handled by ConvertLIT, so I don't see why a reader program couldn't do it on the fly. And there is no reason any of this couldn't be done on a non-Windows platform.

The only real potential problem is legal. Would MS sue you into oblivion if you added LIT capablilty to your software?

Actually, I don't understand why MS themselves haven't ported Reader to other non-Windows platforms. The software is actually quite nice for reading. It is a shame that it is not more widely available. And if I were really dreaming, it would be even better if MS Reader could read other ebook formats as well as LIT.

Technically I think Microsoft would love to have an embedded WinCE OS inside an eBook reader. And probably enough to supply their Reader to get a leg in that market. So far Linux has dominated and the are becoming rivals in the embeded OS arena. I have seen WinCE inside a GPS by Magellan and others (really embedded not a visible OS) so why not. It would be a good market for them. I that happened I might get excited also.

The only caveat is that they don't have a version that can work without a touch screen. They currently don't support their own smartphones for that reason. But that of course is only SMOP (Samll matter of programming).

Dale

[jbenny]

Originally Posted by DaleDe

Technically I think Microsoft would love to have an embedded WinCE OS inside an eBook reader. And probably enough to supply their Reader to get a leg in that market. So far Linux has dominated and the are becoming rivals in the embeded OS arena. I have seen WinCE inside a GPS by Magellan and others (really embedded not a visible OS) so why not. It would be a good market for them. I that happened I might get excited also.

The only caveat is that they don't have a version that can work without a touch screen. They currently don't support their own smartphones for that reason. But that of course is only SMOP (Samll matter of programming).

Dale

I wasn't thinking about MS making a WinCE ebook reader (which is what the original Cybook was). I was saying that with some programming (and a look at the ConvertLIT source), it should be possible for just about any other reader software to incorporate LIT as a format. As much as I dislike any DRMed format, supporting another very popular format like LIT couldn't hurt.

[Jorgen]

Originally Posted by GregS

That had me worried (I don't like MS at all), but from what little I know of the format it would not require it.

Yes, you can of course program a .LIT reader in any operating system, but you need Windows Explorer compatibility to download the book.

[DaleDe]

Originally Posted by jbenny

I wasn't thinking about MS making a WinCE ebook reader (which is what the original Cybook was). I was saying that with some programming (and a look at the ConvertLIT source), it should be possible for just about any other reader software to incorporate LIT as a format. As much as I dislike any DRMed format, supporting another very popular format like LIT couldn't hurt.

Yea, I knew you weren't think in that direction but it triggered a thought in me. But the talk was about Microsoft reader as well as lit and I don't see Microsoft porting it to another OS. I didn't realize the original Cybook was WinCE thanks for that data.

I doubt that any LIT reader could support Microsoft DRM without their permission but I could be wrong. Supporting non-DRM lit is likely to be ok I would think but Microsoft has been aggressive in their products and suing people so I would think it best to get their approval on a commercial product. They might not care but I can't speak for them.

Dale

[Champ2244]

As with all other Ausie products, I am sure the price will skyrocket and it will be less money to buy in the US anyhow. I suggest using a mail forwarding company in the US like http://www.bongous.com. Why bother waiting till they figure out a way to sell this product in Australia.

[GregS]

Basically I am now counting the days for the promised announcement, and will but the first eink device available in this country on two conditions, one that it will allow me to put my own titles on it, and two that it comes in well under $500 dollars.

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by Champ2244

As with all other Ausie products, I am sure the price will skyrocket and it will be less money to buy in the US anyhow....

I would call you a cynic and a miserable pessimist ...except that I'm into photography and extensively know the accuracy of your statement.



Still, we can hope ...can't we?


Cheers,
Marc (I think I just overdosed on Smilies )

[Dajala]

Well, to import a Cybook Gen3 to Australia costs about $550 for the basic reader with no cover (or $695 for the deluxe pack). Those are the prices direct from the cybook site. It really sh*ts me that they add an extra 50 euros to the price because it is outside Europe, before the postage charge is even applied.

To import a Sony PRS-505 from US eBay is around $460.

So if the new reader is an e-ink based device priced under $500 I will buy immediately. If it is over $500, I'll probably choose the Sony option.

[GregS]

Originally Posted by Dajala

Well, to import a Cybook Gen3 to Australia costs about $550 for the basic reader with no cover (or $695 for the deluxe pack). Those are the prices direct from the cybook site. It really sh*ts me that they add an extra 50 euros to the price because it is outside Europe, before the postage charge is even applied.

To import a Sony PRS-505 from US eBay is around $460.

So if the new reader is an e-ink based device priced under $500 I will buy immediately. If it is over $500, I'll probably choose the Sony option.

I think I will adopt a similar strategy.

Over $500 is too much altogether, if they can bring it in lower than that and soon (before Christmas), it would make it worthwhile, but only well under $400 will it start to make sizable impact.

[Blue Tyson]

Originally Posted by Champ2244

As with all other Ausie products, I am sure the price will skyrocket and it will be less money to buy in the US anyhow. I suggest using a mail forwarding company in the US like http://www.bongous.com. Why bother waiting till they figure out a way to sell this product in Australia.

Here's my guess :- they'd price it at $799 pretending the dollar was still 59c like way back when, but given everyone knows that it isn't, and xmas = $699.