10:43 AM by anurag in E-Book General | News

http://amazon.com/kindleformac

08:28 AM by Nate the great in E-Book General | General Discussions

So I just posted the second part of the Pocketbook 302 review over on my blog. Here are an excerpt:

The Pocketbook 302 is just coming on to the market, and I was lucky enough to get one of the first review units. This is part 2 of the review. I posted the first part of the review last week, and it has a fair amount of detail. If you haven’t read it yet, you should. This part will cover entirely different material. Also, you might be interested in the hands on videos I shot.

My Opinion

I’m putting this section first, rather than last, because I think I spent a little too much time pointing out the flaws of PB302. I like it. I could easily see having one as my main e-reader. It’s the first dedicated e-reader that I’ve seen that really lives up to the term e-reader. Most every other device is just an ebook reader; the PB302 is more because it has an RSS Reader and a browser. These features are slightly flawed, yes, but they are features that you can’t get on any other e-reader without a hack (Nook, Iliad). (The Kindle doesn’t count because in most countries you can’t use the browser).

In my opinion, the only ebook reader that can compare with a PB302 is a (hacked) Nook. I’ve thought about this for some time, and I can’t say that one is clearly better than the other. This is great news for the PB302; it costs $80 more. I think I would go for the PB302 myself; I prefer its hardware design.

continued here

Any feedback would be appreciated.

01:07 PM by pilotbob in Miscellaneous | Announcements

We are happy to announce that the forum changes are in place. This pass at forum changes was mainly for the device sections. The goal was to maintain what was working and fill in some missing areas.

To start with there is now a "General Discussions" section. This section was created for those discussion which were about e-books and e-book reading but didn't really fit into a device or software thread. These threads usually ended up in the "News and Commentary" section. You will also see the "News and Commentary" section was renamed to simply be "News" to focus it a bit more.

You will see there is now one category where all E-Book Reader device sections will be found. This includes dedicated devices such as the Kindle and the Sony and non-dedicated devices such as the iPad and the eDGe. The devices are listed in alphabetical order to make them easy to find.

There is a new "More E-Book Readers" section to discuss dedicated e-book reader devices for which there is no section. And grouped under that section are many device specific sub-forums. As discussion in the generic "More" section about a new or coming device become popular a new sub-forum can be added. We value all participation no matter what device you use but we needed a way to keep the forum list from becoming very long and daunting.

In addition the "Other Devices" section is now named "Alternative Devices" for discussion of Netbooks, PDAs, Smartphones etc. Once again, this incubation area will be watched carefully and device or OS specific sub-forums may be created for more popular devices or software.

The very good news is we added the following device sections:

BeBook
enTourage eDGe
iRiver Story
Onyx Boox
Plastic Logic Que
Spring Design Alex

We hope that these changes make everyone happy and will be responding to new forum section request more swiftly since the new organization easily allows it.

Thanks for your patience while we planned all this out. We do appreciate it.

Please enjoy.

10:34 AM by Iñigo in More E-Book Readers | iRex

This package is now (2010/12/11) obsolete, use the new port at https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho....php?p=1265744

EDIT 20100906: new release: v5

See below the changes.

IMPORTANT: version 4 and up needs the core base package in https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?p=887725

Hi,

FBReader 0.10.7 for iRex DR800S

This is a compilation of FBReader e-book reader for iRex DR800 and DR1000.
There aren't much things changed from the original sources, a customized toolbar, some new icons and configuration and data is saved in "SD card/Programs/_config/.FBReader".
Since v4 it includes Loo and Viacheslav script to associate file extensions.

Random notes:
- This package is based on version 0.10.7
- I've tried 0.12.7 but it was too slow, this version is really fast
- Don't know if it works on DR800SG, but I expect it should do

Steps to install:
1. enable SD card folders browsing
2. connect device to your computer using the USB cable
3. create a folder "/Programs" in SD card root
4. you need libs core package installed into SD card/Programs/_base installed
5. copy the contents of this compressed file there.
You should have something like:

SD card
/Programs
_base (directory)
_config (directory)
_fbreader (directory)
Install (directory)
FBReader.desktop (file)

6. go to SD_card/Install folder and run FBReaderAddExt to associate extensions with this program

Steps to use:
1. Navigate to SD card -> Select Programs folder -> tap on FBReader icon
2. Click on preferences and change some settings as default configuration
is not suitable for e-readers. F.e. I've changed:
- margins to 10, 10, 0, 4
- font size (in "styles" tab): to 8
- indicator: I like the "old style"
- key bindings. Tip: click on "Action for key" and press the bar to
show available actions
3. Take a look at "_fbreader/share/FBReader/default/toolbar.xml" file
if you want to change the buttons/actions shown in the toolbar

Enjoy,
Iñigo Serna

Changes:

v5 - 2010/09/06 00:57
. updated share/zlibrary/hyphenationPatterns.zip. This should fix
the Russian hyphenation problems. Thanks to Loo
. associate .prc and .mobi file extensions with FBReader
. toolbar slightly modified to fit better with DR800+
. move add/remove extensions shortcuts to Install folder

v4 - 2010/04/27 23:07
. needs libs from core _base package v1: fribidi, liblinebreak, libbz2
. included Loo and Viacheslav file extensions association script

v3 - 2010/04/16 23:40
. needs libs from core _base package v0: fribidi, liblinebreak, libbz2
. configuration is saved into /media/mmcblk0p1/Programs/_config/.FBReader
instead of using /home/root/.FBReader

v1, v2
. customize toolbar and add new icons

v0 - 2010/03/24
. based on FBReader 0.10.7
. initial release

12:32 PM by pilotbob in Miscellaneous | Announcements

Over the next week or so starting today you will be seeing some changes in the forums sections. We are reorganizing things in order to make sure there is a place to discuss all your topics, favorite devices and books.

If you see that a forum is missing or closed the messages are in the process of being moved to another section.

So, what's happening? Here are some hints:

To start with the two Sony threads and the two iRex threads will be merged together and device prefixes will be added to the section. This has proven itself to work well in the new Sony section so it will become a common fixture in all of the device sections where it makes sense.

We will also be collapsing some of the sub-forums into their parents to simplify forum navigation and prevent that deer in the headlights feeling of what sub-forum you should use for a trouble shooting question about an accessory.

I'm sure it will make you happy to hear that there will be several new device forums and a General Discussion area so those types of discussions won't dilute the News section.

We have been working very hard on the new layout and I want to thank all the members that have helped us. Your ideas were all taken seriously and considered important. I wish we could make everyone 100% happy but some ideas just conflicted with others.

So, please pardon our dust while we remodel... It should be well worth it.

07:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

Have something interesting to say about e-books or mobile computing? Join our forums and share your view on topics like the ones discussed at MobileRead this past week...

E-Book General - News and Commentary

• Read an E-Book Week 2010 is on!
• CeBIT Video: 1cross Tech Android e-reader combo
• Archos 5 Review
• Pocketbook 360 Review & Hands on Video

06:33 PM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

I have this review that I'd like to share. It was written by MR member Roger108, and I think it pretty accurately describes the PB360. You can find it over on my blog. Here's an excerpt:

The Pocketbook 360° eReader – Lean, Light, Beautiful and Blazing Fast

Ebook readers have been arriving in ever greater tidal waves over the past few years, some loaded with features, others barely able to perform as ebook readers. This January when I began my search, I was looking for one feature, the ability to read books easily, without eye strain. I have no desire to divide my mind with music or the internet while reading.

So when my ivory colored Pocketbook 360° appeared before my eyes—lean, light, and beautiful—I had a feeling that it would be a perfect fit. In fact, being the size of a CD case, and weighing a mere 5.3 ounces (half that of the Kindle or Nook), it fit perfectly in my pocket.

I also shot a couple hands on videos with my new camera. You can watch them here.

06:35 PM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

I just posted a review of the Archos 5 tablet over on my blog. Here are the highlights:

I’ve been wanting to add an Android device to my collection for some time now, but I had to wait until I had the funds to spare. The Archos 5 was released last fall in the US and Europe. It’s your usual MID with a 4.8” screen, 8GB flash, Wifi, Bluetooth, and a microSD card slot. It also has excellent media abilities (Archos has been making media players for quite a few years now.)
...
My Recommendation

I would not go out of my way to get an Android tablet as an ebook reader. TBH, I would avoid them entirely. It is not nearly as stable or nor as feature rich as either Linux or Windows Mobile. Also, it doesn’t offer as many apps as either Linux or Windows Mobile. Android isn’t ready yet; it’s still in its infancy. And frankly, it was meant to run phones, not tablets. There’s a reason why the only authorized devices are phones; that’s what it’s designed for.

continued here