08:33 AM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

Viewsonic just announced a new Android tablet yesterday. The projected retail is 3000 yuan (about $440), and a release date has not been set. Here are the specs:

• nVidia Tegra CPU
• 8.9" touchscreen, 1024x600
• 4GB storage built in
• USB host
• Mini PCIe slot
• camera built in (specs unknown)
• Wifi b/g/n
• Bluetooth

from:
http://tech.163.com/mobile/10/0120/2...F0011179O.html

08:32 AM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

I found this neat 10" slate on a Chinese site. It's not on the market yet, but when it is the base is expected to retail for less than 3000 Yuan. According to my source the battery life is disappointing - 2.5 hours of video under WinXP or 1.5 under Win7. It's a shame; I like how it looks. Here are the specs:

• 1.6GHz Atom N270 CPU
• 1GB RAM
• 160GB HD
• 10" touchscreen
• 1024x768 screen resolution
• 2 USB ports
• network jack
• SD card slot
• CF card slot
• weight: 850g
• size: 255 × 159 × 22 mm

from:
http://www.shanzhaiben.com/83/n-3783.html

07:56 AM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

from the press release:

SEATTLE, Jan 21, 2010 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- (NASDAQ: AMZN)--For the past two years, Amazon has welcomed authors and publishers to directly upload and sell content in the Kindle Store through the self-service Kindle publishing platform. Today, Amazon announced that it is inviting software developers to build and upload active content that will be available in the Kindle Store later this year. The new Kindle Development Kit gives developers access to programming interfaces, tools and documentation to build active content for Kindle--the #1 bestselling, most wished for, and most gifted product across all categories on Amazon. Developers can learn more about the Kindle Development Kit today at http://www.amazon.com/kdk/ and sign up to be notified when the limited beta starts next month.

...

For example, Handmark is building an active Zagat guide featuring their trusted ratings, reviews and more for restaurants in cities around the world, and Sonic Boom is building word games and puzzles.

"As the leading worldwide publisher of mobile games, EA Mobile has had the privilege of collaborating with many dynamic and innovative companies in bringing exciting gaming experiences to new platforms," says Adam Sussman, Vice President of Worldwide Publishing, EA Mobile. "Working with Amazon, we look forward to bringing some of the world's most popular and fun games to Kindle and their users."

The public beta starts next month, space is limited, and you can join the waiting list at www.amazon.com/kdk. The KDK will include sample code, documentation, and a simulator.

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I wonder how long until someone ports Doom? Eh, I don't care. But I will put $10 towards a good FBReader port.

08:35 PM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

The title says it all. I can't find anything else, not even in the original Chinese.

03:25 PM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

I just came across this on TeleRead, and thought it worth repeating.

Gamers, Let's band together and see how much we can raise to help the people of Haiti.

Donate $20 and get a coupon for over a thousand dollars in RPG titles. After you make the donation, you will receive the coupon code in your email. It will also be available in your order history.

A listing of the free products available with this coupon can be found on our Gamers Help Haiti page.

Add any of the products to your cart, and use the coupon on checkout. Any products that are part of the Haiti relief package will be discounted to $0.00.

Unfortunately the overwhelming generosity of the gaming community is hampering our ability to deliver the orders purchased with the bundle coupon to you. Your products will be safe in your order history, so if you could wait a day or two before downloading them, it would be much appreciated. Please contact us if you have any questions.

from:
http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/produc...adlyfredly.com

Some of the ebooks have DRM, some do not.

03:04 PM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

It has nothing to do with ebooks, but I thought someone would get a kick out of it. From the press release:

PROVO, Utah, January 14, 2010 – SirsiDynix®, the world leader in library automation technology, announces the most comprehensive Apple iPhone® application for library users is near release, pending Apple’s standard review. The free application locates nearby libraries and allows users to search library catalogs for available materials. Users registered with a library can also place and cancel holds at their library using their iPhone.

“BookMyne® provides meaningful patron interaction with their library, which is one of the fundamental objectives that drives all development at SirsiDynix,” said Talin Bingham, chief technology officer for SirsiDynix. “Mobile technology has undoubtedly changed the way we interact with each other and how we access information and services across the board. BookMyne is only the first in a line of SirsiDynix mobile solutions; libraries and users can expect applications for other mobile devices that will access more SirsiDynix libraries and offer incredible functionality for patrons and staff in the future.”

Note that it's still awaiting Apple's approval.

02:57 PM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

L.E.K. Consulting just released the results from a media survey conducted in December 2009. I'm not surprised by the results. I've been listening to MR members for the past couple years and my anecdotal evidence agrees with the survey results.

Here is the part about ebook readers:

E-readers are driving readership and becoming a growth driver for the book and magazine market -- the “iPod Nation” consumer segment is good, but the “e-reader Republic” offers even more opportunities for new media services
- Among active readers who own an e-reader, about 48% reported reading more books as a consequence of having such products, as compared to those who do not own an e-reader where only 15% reported reading more books (44% vs. 23%, respectively for magazines)
- 36% percent of the books read by people with e-readers represent incremental consumption—meaning more than one-third of the books read on e-readers would not have been read in print
- 40% of respondents indicated that affordability of books on e-readers was driving their increased consumption, and 47% indicated the release of more interesting books as a reason for spending more time reading print media (likely due to better discovery on e-readers)
- iPod owners consume roughly 14% more new media (8.9 hours vs. 7.8 hours per week) than the general population, while e-reader owners consume a whopping 18.2 hours of new media per week in comparison

from:
http://www.lek.com/About/Hidden_Opportunities.cfm

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If there is a publisher reading this, I'd like you to go back and reread the part about how ebook reader owners actually buy more books, not less. That whole "a digital book sold equals a lost paper sale" is nothing but horsepucky.

02:42 PM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

The Kaiser Family Foundation has been conducting a national survey on the media used by children from 8 to 18 y.o. The findings were just announced today. You can find the full details here (press release, prsentation, summary, and more).

Here's the good news: book reading has actually increased in the last 5 years, both in the number of kids reading and the amount of time spent (p30). Unfortunately, newspaper and magazine reading decreased. I'm not surprised; we all know Old Media is in trouble.

press release
report