01:14 PM by Madam Broshkina in E-Book Readers | Barnes & Noble NOOK

Update 1.2 is now available for the nook. The following is from the B&N nook board:

We're confirming that the nook 1.2 update is now available!

We continue to optimize nook software to give our customers a great reading experience. In this, our second software update since we shipped nook in early December 2009, we are providing an improved reading and in-store experience, all key areas that our customers noted. nook v 1.2 will be made available to customers in a seamless over the air (OTA) update over approximately the next week, beginning today, and immediately by manual download.

Q. What's new in V1.2?
nook V1.2 continues to improve nook performance to enhance the overall reading experience and in-store connectivity for nook customers to enjoy exclusive content and promotions in Barnes & Noble stores. Key updates include:

• Enhanced in-store seamless connectivity to enjoy free Wi-Fi, with our More In Store content and promotions exclusively for nook owners.
• Improved opening of eBooks and periodicals
• Improved response to Reading Now & Settings buttons
• Current reading page and bookmarks on all eBooks is properly saved when your nook is powered off
• Bookmarks display page number
• Eligible LendMe™ eBooks in My Library include a LendMe™ flag
• Easier navigation of daily subscription with issues rolled into one folder
• Improved “back” button functionality for navigating eBooks and periodicals
• Personal files downloaded onto nook and displayed in My Documents can be sorted by author & title
• Overall system improvements and battery optimization

12:04 AM by pilotbob in Miscellaneous | Announcements

Have the price of ebooks been getting you down lately?

Are you tired of the Amazon vs Macmillan mud slinging in the news lately?

Well... I am here to bring you good news...

The MobileRead eBook library now contains over 15,000 ebook uploads. These aren't just scan/OCR and transfer. For the most part the ebooks in the MobileRead library are extremely well formatted and proofread.

So, unearth a gem today in our library.

Congratulations and thanks go to all the creators, editors and uploaders for a job well done. Also, thanks to the existence of public domain laws and creative commons copyrights.

Well done MobileReaders!

03:49 AM by Bob Russell in E-Book Readers | Apple Devices

The iPad has my interest, even though I'm not a fan of closed systems, and I never thought I'd consider a device without at least one USB port and a memory card slot. What follows is my reasons for interest, and the things I wish it had. I.e., if I could have provided input, this is what Apple might have included on an iPad developed just for me.

Why I Am Interested

• Good battery life. Hopefully, real world usage matches 10-12hrs.
• Great form factor - light, slim and nicely sized screen
• Zippy performance - should be much faster than e-ink devices
• Capacitive touch screen
• Lots of developer support, and huge iPhone consumer base
• External keyboard via BT or dock. Eventually wired keyboards will probably be available via the connector.
• Should be a good e-book reader, even for PDFs in landscape. (I don't mind reading on an LCD screen.)
• Price is not much more than an e-ink device, so I can potentially make this as an e-book reader purchase that gets me some additional functionality and a more responsive device as well.

If you go to a full O/S like Win7, then you lose battery life and the lightweight advantage. I.e. In that case, I may as well use my convertible tablet, or get a netbook (still a possibility). The extra weight and shorter battery life is a critical factor for me.

It will be interesting to see what Android tablets come out with 7-10" screens, 8+hr battery life, <2lbs weight and sold for <$500. If there is a good device, and it meets my needs, it might beat out the iPad for me.

I don't think we'll see a Win7 device this year that meets those criteria.

What iPad is missing

• USB ports and Memory card slots
• Flash browser
• e-book format support. Seems to have PDF and eReader and ePub. But is ADEPT ePub going to be available? Is PDF support very good?
• DivX video support (and other formats as well)
• Remote PC control - I expect that LogMeIn Ignition or other apps will support this
• BT tethering to use my Treo as modem data plan. I'm not even sure how I'll figure this out before making a purchase decision, but it would be a big plus if it works.
• GPS and mapping SW. Wish it could run Google Maps with GPS. Maybe it will?
• Flash browsing - especially to allow things like Hulu, Fancast, ESPN360, etc.
• Synching without a computer or iTunes. That goes back to the memory card and USB port, but also I don't really want to even use iTunes unless I have to.
• If you buy an app on an iPad/iPhone/iTouch, do you have to buy it again to use it on another iPad/iPhone/iTouch? If not, and I get an iPad, they may have shifted my future phone desires from Android to iPhone as well.

Are these deficiencies show stoppers? I don't know yet. I'm really looking at this as a stopgap device until I can get what I really want with Win7 inside, so it doesn't have to be perfect. Just better than other e-book readers for my own purposes and tastes. I already expect it to be outdated by the time the second generation iPad comes out - but in the e-book reader game, that's par for the course right now.

Caveat - I'm going by memory in terms of what is available on iPad or not. This info may not be completely accurate. And, obviously, in many cases I already indicate above that I don't know. Please let me know if you have answers!

Anyway, I'd sure be interested to see if others have similar desires for the iPad and what you might also want that I left out.

06:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

Been away? Fear not! Here is your chance to check out what appeared on our frontpage this week:

E-Book General - News and Commentary

• Introducing the new Bebook Neo
• Book Glutton goes Mobile
• Jointech JE200 review
• Apple Event - Live Blogging/Streaming Coverage
• Hands on with the iPad
• Hanvon N516 first impressions

E-Book General - Deals, Freebies, and Resources

• Universal solar charger - Today only [Wed 1-27-10]

E-Book General - Reading Recommendations

• February 2010 Mobile Read Book Club Vote

04:25 PM by daffy4u in E-Book Readers | Apple Devices

Not me but I'm working with a friend who has spent the past month on and off shooting the commercials for the iPad (they aren't finished). He can talk some now because of the announcement.

He has played with the beta software version of it. Based on my quick questions:

- it's close in weight to the Kindle though thicker and bigger
- even here in L.A. where AT&T has issues, the OS was snappy when web surfing
- he called it a "Kindle Killer" - he's not an ebook reader type person so I explained why that was wrong (and not just for the Kindle)
- he liked it but said it was really just "okay" and it really is a niche market product
- it really is just a big iPod Touch

I can throw some questions at him today and tomorrow and post responses as I have time.

11:55 AM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

I posted some remarks about the Hanvon N516 over on my blog. It's not a full review; that will be coming next week.

My N516 arrived today from Fry’s. I thought I’d take a few minutes and tell you what I think. The full review will come later; I am waiting on a response from Hanvon.

It’s the 5″ E-ink model without a touch screen. I like the simple pared down elegance of the design. There are 11 buttons to the left of the screen (0-9 and bookmark), and a d-pad plus 4 buttons below the screen to the right. The power, USB, and SD card slot are on the upper edge. There is a microphone, speaker, and headphone jack on the lower edge. On the left edge is a jog dial (for turning the page).

It came in a very nice looking box modeled off of the original Kindle’s. Hanvon is making a big push into the US market; there was a sticker on the shrinkwrap with their customer service 800 number on it. The box contained the reader, AC adapter, USB cable, earbuds, and a book-like cover that’s held on by magnets.

Menu response was slow. I don’t mean that the page refresh was slow; I’m fine with that. The delay in going from one menu screen to another took far longer than a page refresh.

I’ve been trying various different ways to hold it, and I’m pretty sure one handed operation is possible. At first glance, it’s a nice eboo reader.

The review will also be posted on my blog.

03:45 PM by dioib in E-Book General | News

BlogsDNA lists a number of websites that provide live blogging ad streaming coverage of the Apple event. Although UberGizmo is listed to stream the event, it seems that they would actually provide blogging coverage. Let's see if the other remaining two will cover it live..

01:21 PM by Bob Russell in E-Book General | Deals and Resources (No...

Have you ever wished that your e-Reader battery lasted longer for camping trips, because you can't just plug it in for a recharge? Or maybe you get mobile phone service, but have no way to recharge your phone.

One possible solution for the adventurous might be a three way charging kit offered today only for $9.99 plus s&h at DailySteals. You'll have to make sure it's compatible - current, voltage, connectors and so forth. But if you get that figured out, it includes not only an A/C and USB charging solution, but also a solar charging panel with an 1800mAh Lith-ion battery. Apparently, that means you can charge that spare battery with light, and use it like a supplemental battery even when it's dark.

This would seem to be a workable solution for long term reading away from wall outlets. If you figure out that it will work (or won't work) for your favorite e-book reader, let us know. If you get one, share the results with us - even at a higher regular price, this may be a solution that will interest others.

Product Specifications:
High solar energy conversion efficiency.
5.5V/80 Ma Solar Energy Board.
1350Mah High capacity polymer battery.
Output voltage 5.0-6.0V.
Output Current 350-850Ma.
Charging time: approximately 60 minutes, with results varying by device.
10-15 hours to charge the battery using solar power.
5 hours to charge by computer or AC adapter.

Product Compatibility:
You can use this item to charge many mobile phones, Digital cameras, PDAs, MP3 players, or MP4 players whenever and wherever you go.
USB Mini-fits Motorola Razr, Blackberry and palm
Nokia fits mostly Nokia Phones
Samsung fits many Samsung phones
New Nokia
LG Chocolate.