09:53 AM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

Microsoft just released a 202 page PDF which describes all the new features in the next version of Microsoft Office (currently in beta).

http://cid-d7229b252a0ad6f2.skydrive...93876ebook.pdf

09:01 AM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

I found a couple articles yesterday, and they were quite a pleasant surprise. The articles are neither Kaufman's "ebooks are a digital holocaust" nor are they the usual "smell of books" nonsense. I had trouble summarizing them because they both use the word e-reading, which for me is pain akin to nails on a chalkboard.

http://www.csmonitor.com/Books/2009/...ure-of-reading

http://papercuts.blogs.nytimes.com/2...ading-emerson/

08:50 AM by grimo1re in E-Book General | News

I guess EFF likes Sony! Full article here.

08:43 AM by anurag in E-Book General | News

From http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a3963166-e...nclick_check=1

A key technology supplier to the Amazon Kindle electronic reader plans to launch a lightweight plastic screen next year that is expected to make the products less likely to break and pave the way for their large-scale introduction in schools and colleges.

Prime View International, a Taiwanese company that is the biggest supplier of the screens used in e-readers - and which are currently based on glass - intends to introduce a plastic-based screen in the spring that it would make available to all its customers including Amazon.

The US internet retailer yesterday said it did not want to comment on any plans it might have for introducing a plastic-based version of the Kindle.

...

(via http://kindleworld.blogspot.com)

07:44 AM by anurag in E-Book General | News

Via Engadget:

...
it looks like it's managed to get the first ones out the door on the early end of its December 18th to January 8th estimate, with the initial batch of pre-orders shipping today.
...
an additional 16 publications that will be offering wirelessly-delivered subscriptions on the Daily Edition, including The New York Times, The Dallas Morning News, The Baltimore Sun, and The Denver Post.
...

Related: PRS-900 release date

06:03 AM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

I have a modest proposal. Every large library in the state - heck, in the country - should buy 10 electronic book readers and allow patrons to check them out for two weeks, just like real books.

I know that money is tight in Libraryworld, and that acquisition budgets are slim. It would be nice if Amazon and Sony donated their respective e-books, Kindles and Readers, to libraries as a good-will gesture, but there is no evidence they plan to do so.

Why do this? Because this is where libraries need to be. I worry that libraries, even the newest ones, risk becoming fortresses buttressed by books, protecting Gutenberg’s technology for reasons of principle rather than pragmatism. Librarians need to educate themselves, and us, about the possibilities and limitations of digital books.

from:
http://www.boston.com/ae/books/artic..._want_to_read/
********

There is a significant flaw in his argument, and a simple cost-benefit analysis will demonstrate it.

If a library focuses on 10 ebook readers and has 1k ebooks, only 10 people at a time can use those thousand ebooks. That's a significant capital investment which will boost the user base by 10 people. On the other hand, if a library focuses on the ebook itself and has a 1k collection of public domain ebooks, an infinite number of people can use them.

There is a vast storehouse of free ebooks out there. And that's why libraries should get into ebooks, not hardware.

07:44 PM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

For the second post in this series I'm going to focus solely on Chinese companies. (There are times that it seems like half of all tech startups in the world are from China.)

Onyx
They'll be exhibiting the Boox 60. I've reviewed it elsewhere and it's a very good device.

Jinke
This is the company that makes the Hanlin V3 & V5 ereaders, which you might know as the Bebook, EZReader, Walkbook, or LBook. Until Amazon took the Kindle international this was the company with the most widely available products.

Daza
This is Chinese manufacturer of consumer electronics. They have a new liseuse on their website, but I'm still waiting to hear if it will be at CES.

Hivision
This is another Chinese manufacturer of consumer electronics, who also has
a 6" e-reader on their website. I'm still waiting to hear if it will be at CES.

Aigo
This company just came to my attention this morning. Unlike the 2 I just mentioned, Aigo is already shipping their PB6301 ereader. Once again, I'm still waiting to hear if it will be at CES.

Hanwang
If you live in Europe you might have seen on of this company's products. In the past 6 months they've picked up several distributors in GB, Germany, and the low countries. Their listing says that they'll have 4 e-readers on display.

Gajah
This is the manufacturer of the Oaxis ebook reader. I'm told they plan to have 2 models on display.

Shenzhen Leadfar
According to the website they have several education products that may or may not be ebook readers. I'm relying on Google to translate for me, and this is one that I'm not sure about. Still, it's worth a visit.

Brother Update
I heard back from Brother PR: At this time, only the sewing machine division is exhibiting at CES, darn it. But they did promise to try to forward my request.

06:49 PM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

Someone emailed me a link to this list. It's not very good; they don't state how the ebooks from each site are encumbered by DRM. They forgot to mention the Kindle Store. They also got their facts wrong on #10; you can buy ebooks from that site.

http://degreedirectory.org/articles/...ks_Online.html