12:55 PM by Adam B. in More E-Book Readers | iRex

From the iRex Knowledgebase

iRex Digital Reader 1000S software 1.7 has been released.

There are a few minor, but useful changes.

• Tabbed task manager - With the Tabbed Task Manager you can quickly switch between open files, applications and the last opened folder.
  
• Spanish and Italian language support - Support for Spanish and Italian has been added. You can change your preferred language in the settings menu.
  
• USB Charger detected - The device will now automatically detect when a USB wall charger is connected and it will no longer ask to export to the PC in this case.
  
• Bug fixes
  • Fixed bug where setting the date or time would crash the device
  • The Main LED is now always on when lights are switched off in the settings.
  • Various small bug-fixes

I've found the tab feature alone to be very useful.

Those not using the companion software can download it from here.

09:34 AM by poohbear_nc in E-Book General | News

Apparently badly OCR'd editions of 6 Harry Potter titles are now available again for $19.99 each - now listed as published by Amazon!

[Link deleted by moderator]

These editions have been available since the 16th. Wonder how Amazon will handle this situation? Amazon Discussion board posts indicate CS has been repeatedly notified about it.

09:15 AM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

The IFA is a consumer electronics trade show held in Berlin every year. Several exhibitors will be bringing ebook readers this year.

Sony will be there (Hall 4.2/Booth 101). Currently only the PRS-505 is listed, so they might not be bringing the recently announced PRS-300 or PRS-600. I'm following up on this and will post new information as I get it.

There will also be a new Netronix distributor. It's a Netherlands based company by the name of Lubix. Based on the product description, they don't appear to have added to default firmware.

And we've been told that PocketBook, the Ukraine based ebook developer, will be attending. They do not appear to be listed as an exhibitor, so I can't guarantee the booth number (Hall 14/Booth 107).

I have 2 reasons to be interested in Pocketbook. The first is that hey developed their own firmware, including a better gui. The other reason is that Andrey, the sales manager, has said that they will be bringing all of their readers, the PocketBook 301, 302, and the 360 (their new 5" reader). Hopefully MR will be able to send someone to take a look at it.

06:57 AM by zelda_pinwheel in Miscellaneous | Announcements

This Saturday the Edinburgh Book Festival will be in full swing, and what better way to celebrate books than with a MobileRead meet-up ! This year's meet-up promises to be as much fun as last year's (or more! if such a thing is possible) so if you'll be anywhere in the area, hie thee to the cafe in Highland Spiegeltent for some stimulating discussion of books, gadgets, and the e-book experience! A splendid time is promised to all!

MobileRead member Mike L gives us the following details about the event:

Date:
Saturday 22nd August

Time:
2.30 pm

Place:
At the Edinburgh International Book Festival venue in Charlotte Square, Edinburgh. We'll meet in the cafe in the Highland Spiegeltent, which is on your left as you come in through the main entrance.

How to recognise us:
Look for the A4 Mobile Read logo. Failing that, just look for a bunch of intelligent-looking people poring over various and-held devices.

Other details:
At present, the plan is to meet over coffee or a beer, and then perhaps to visit the festival together, with the possibility of continuing into dinner
in the evening.

About the festival
Entry to the festival is free and open to all. There are book displays, exhibits, and some free entertainment and vents. There is also an extensive
programme of talks, workshops and discussions. These are not free, and the more popular ones get booked up well in advance, though others can be booked at the last minute.

On the day of our meet-up, the programme will include contributions from Henning Mankell (creator of the Wallender books), Pico Iyer (the biographer
of the Dali Lama), Anne Fine (noted children's author), Alexander McCall Smith (one of our most popular local authors), and many more. More
information about these events from www.edbookfest.co.uk.

More information can be found in this thread. Please let us know if you're planning to be there by leaving a little message over here.

10:07 AM by zelda_pinwheel in Miscellaneous | Announcements

Summertime is meet-up time in ebook-land ! And we're excited to announce that there will be a meet-up in Phoenix, Arizona in a mere two weeks ! This meet-up is organised by F1Wild in conjunction with members of the Kindle boards and you can find all the info in this thread.

If you're in the area, take your mind off the heat by spending the afternoon with some e-book enthusiasts for some cool conversation about books and gadgets. Special guests will include two authors publishing kindle books : Thomas Greanias and Timothy Hallinan.

Here are the important details :

Day/Date/Time:
Saturday/August 29, 2009/1pm

Place:
The Poisoned Pen
4014 N Goldwater Blvd. Suite 101
Scottsdale, AZ 85251
(480) 947-2974
www.poisonedpen.com

If you can make it, please RSVP in this thread !

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

Missed some of our big stories this week? Time to catch up:

E-Book General - News and Commentary

• Mobipocket ebooks useless after firmware upgrade
• Jobs: Adobe e-book development team is recruiting
• Sony's Reader team to present something August 25
• CourseSmart takes on Kindle, puts textbooks on iPhone
• Three million Kindle users by end of 2010, says analyst
• The Register on hacking the Sony Reader
• Sony Reader and ebook websites launched in Belgium in October
• Sony is going ePub all the way! And a third new Reader?
• Official list of ePub compatible e-book devices

E-Book General - Reading Recommendations

• 2009 Hugo Award Winners

E-Book Devices - Sony Portable Reader PRS-500/505

• How many MobileReaders have a PRS-500?

Portable Devices - Apple iPhone

• FiC (FLAG iPhone Companion)

Miscellaneous - Announcements

• Reminder: MobileRead WSFS meetup in Montreal tonight!
• Forum additions: Astak + Jetbook next!
• Beta testers wanted: MobileRead goes Unicode

03:35 PM by Bob Russell in E-Book Readers | Sony Reader

The original PRS-500 came onto the scene with a splash here at MobileRead. But there are so many options, and many of the original PRS-500 owners have probably moved on and upgraded. Maybe even with the Sony 505 upgrade deal.

Now, with the conversion of the Sony e-book store to ePub, I'm wondering how many people with PRS-500 are affected. This poll will only pick up a few of us, but might be interesting nonetheless.

So if you still have a PRS-500, put in your vote and make yourself known!

08:45 AM by nrapallo in Miscellaneous | Lounge

Well, after much discussion , extensive polling and considerable arm-twisting , we have upon us a time and place for the 1st Toronto Mobileread.com Meet-up!

It will be a gathering to see the latest gadgetry (e-ink in all its glory) as well as those tried and true legacy ebook readers (what started it all...) and some in-between attempts...

So, mark it in your day planners, bring your ebook reader and come join us for some lively discussions (Did someone say DRM?...) and general friendliness attributed to Torontonians the world over...

Current attendance list (confirmed)

ficbot - Toronto (North York) (1)
nrapallo aka GIGABYTE ATTACHMENT MAN - Vaughan (Woodbridge) (1)
shighfield - Toronto (Scarborough) (1)
lance_ - Toronto (1)
pholy - Toronto (1)
Verencat - Montreal (2)
PeterT - (1 or 2)

Maybe list (possible)

MelC - Toronto (1)

So... please confirm here, or ask for more information, and get that word out that Toronto is having it's first Mobileread.com Meet-up...

p.s. Sorry for the short notice, but these things are 90% planning and 10% actual results...