10:37 AM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

MR member Kartu was kind enough to tell us that he is developing a new hacked firmware for the PRS-505. It's still in beta, though, so be careful. The features he's added include:

• Books by Folder
• Sudoku game
• Clock
• Joypad browsing
• Unified headers

You can find out more here:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=64510

10:21 AM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

Netbook News is visiting Taiwan this week, and they came across an ebook reader that's only available in Taiwan. They took a few minutes to shoot a hands on video:

I went looking for more information rather than simply post their video. This device is by Aiptek, maker of digital video cameras, LCD screens, and other small electronic devices. Coincidentally, Aiptek is an exhibitor at CES 2010. I will certainly stop by their booth.

I also found a number of other Youtube videos posted by Aiptek, including one on the ebook reader:

I also found the support site Aiptek created for their ebook reader. They also opened an ebook store. Last but not least, here is an Ebay auction for the device. I got the following specs from the auction:

• 8" LCD
• 800x600 color screen
• MP3 support
• comes with 20 books
• 512MB storage built in
• SD card slot
• USB port (both host and slave)

09:31 AM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

I found an interesting article today in the Daily Illini, the University of Illinois student newspaper. The topic of the article is how hearing and visually impaired students access textbooks and coursework. Naturally the most important ebook reader for these students is a laptop.

Hah. I bet you thought I was going to say Kindle. Nope. Disabled students have a well developed support system that existed well before the Kindle. Integrating the Kindle is just now beginning to happen (in a piecemeal fashion).

It's an interesting read.

from:
http://www.dailyillini.com/news/camp...s-not-so-equal

09:08 AM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

Yesterday Digitimes reported:

Asustek Computer is making preparations to launch a new device named Eee Pad featuring a 4- to 7-inch panel, and which will offer a combination of tablet PC and MID functions, according to industry sources. Current details of the Eee Pad suggest the product has been inspired by the rumors of Apple's planned tablet device, the sources commented.

from:
http://www.digitimes.com/NewsShow/Ne...&query=ASUSTEK

Normally I wouldn't place much faith in this rumor, but I happen to have another piece of information. Asus has scheduled a press conference at CES for the Tuesday before it begins. Why would they do that if they weren't going to announce a new gadget?

07:52 AM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

This should interest most any gadget geek. Mary Lou Jepsen announced on her blog that Pixel Qi will be attending CES 2010 in support of their business partners. She didn't say which companies that would be, so let the hunt begin.

http://pixelqi.com/blog1/2009/12/07/...ng-production/

02:27 PM by igorsk in E-Book General | News

Linky.
Some new stuff:
1) XS zoom level added
2) remove margins option
3) two-page view
4) two dictionaries on the device, not just one as mentioned on the site; also same four languages and extra keyboard layouts as on PRS-600
5) separate "newspaper viewer" for periodicals (navigate by sections and articles)
6) automatic collections: "Unread books", "Unread Periodicals", "Purchased Books". Still no manual on-device collections creation.
7) protect content from accidental deletion (from the device; it can still be deleted from PC)
8) dictionary can be browsed separately, not only from a book
9) Included: AC charger, soft cover and zippered case (PRSA-ZC9).
10) DRM-protected BBeB books are not supported.

01:18 PM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

The Wall Street Journal is quoting Brian Murray as stating that HarperCollins will soon start delaying the release of ebooks until after that of the hardback edition.

"We're going to experiment with this," Mr. Murray said. "Each new e-book represents a potential new marketing opportunity at a time when we need every possible hook to get consumer attention."

from:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000...googlenews_wsj

I do understand that publishers don't want to cannibalize the big ticket sales, but this isn't the solution. If there is a choice between buying a hardback and buying an ebook, I'll buy the ebook. But if the choice is betwen a hardback and nothing, I'll choose nothing. You just lost a sale, Mr. Murray.

11:57 AM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

Wizpac released a free iPhone app yesterday. I haven't tried it yet (OS 3.0 is required), but it does look interesting.

The app store listing says that the txtr store has more than 20k( with about 7800 in English) in Epub encumbered by Adobe DRM. I looked at the store briefly, and it appears that the 20k figure is not inflated by including public domain works. You can download Epub bought at the txtr store from your Itouch or iPhone.

You can also download your own content. Some time back Wizpac added the ability to upload (and share) content to txtr.com. With this app you can download your documents to your Itouch or iPhone. Sweet.

But, there might be a problem. According to the one review in the App Store, the txtr for iPhone can't read DRMed Epub yet. Can anyone confirm this?

********
Credit for noticing this app goes to Blue Monkey. Thanks.