03:37 PM by pilotbob in E-Book General | News

Think $359 was too much for a Kindle 2? What to spend less? You asked for it and you got it. The Amazon Kindle 2 is now on sale for its new reduced price of $299.

(@via Engadget)
http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/08/a...ut-now-at-299/

Discussion of this is ongoing in this thread:
https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?p=515871

01:28 PM by zelda_pinwheel in E-Book General | News

We've just had news from Sony which should delight Mac using e-book readers everywhere : the next version of their eBook Library software will be compatible with Macs, as well as PCs !

Dear Fellow Reader,
Attention Mac users! We’ve received many requests to make the eBook Store work with Apple® Macintosh® computers, and we wanted to share with you our progress on this front.
An updated version of the eBook Library Software compatible with Mac OS X operating systems will be available by the end of Summer 2009 for download to your computer to enable you to purchase, organization and download content to your PRS505 and PRS700.
Send us your email address, and we will notify you when the update is available.
Thank you,
Your Friends at The eBook Store

We are thrilled to hear that this long overdue improvement will finally be implemented.

Presumably, this means that we will now also be able to authorise Sony Readers for purchasing DRM books online from a Mac.

Registered Sony users, watch your inboxes for news...

12:16 PM by zelda_pinwheel in E-Book General | News

At the MobileRead Meet-up in Paris this Saturday we had the pleasure and the privilege of getting a visit from Michael Dahan, co-founder of Bookeen, in person, for an exclusive sneak preview of their new 5" model, the Opus.

We have to say that it looks positively gorgeous and we're very impressed with the ergonomy, and, well, we're frankly coveting one. Here are some specs :

• 5" high definition e-ink screen (200dpi, 600x800 pixels)
• Ultra light-weight : 150 grammes.
• 1go internal memory (twice the capacity of the Cybook Gen3)
• Truly pocket-sized !
• Excellent ergonomy with convenient well-placed page-turning buttons on the side of the screen for one-handed use.
• An accelerometer allows you to use it in either hand.
• ePUB and PDF support (with or without DRM) via the Adobe Reader Mobile SDK.
• 12 different type sizes
• Folder support !
• User replaceable battery.
• Memory card expansion slot (Micro SD).

MobileRead member Xaaf and Clément from ebouquin were kind enough to document the unboxing for us and we thank them for the photos, which you will find here and here.

See the whole unboxing gallery on flickr here.

EDIT : video action !

here is first one, showing the navigation and the interface (including folders), or see it on dailymotion.

accelerometer video !
http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance...-rotation_tech

fast advance :
http://www.dailymotion.com/relevance...er-screen_tech

04:11 PM by mtravellerh in E-Book General | News

In something of a surprise move, Vodafone Germany, one of the biggest players in the German mobile market, seems to have decided to take the eBook market seriously.
German magazine Wirtschaftswoche announced today that Vodafone might bring to market a new e-ink eBook-Reader with a big screen (A4) in fall. It seems that the new reader is already being tested. The device will not be produced by Vodafone itself, but will be branded. The screen size will probably be 9.7-inch which puts it in the Kindle DX range. There will also be some kind of mobile connectivity. We don't know who the producer of the device will be - for now.
Vodafone is also thinking of selling its device in combination with newspaper or magazine subscriptions.
It seems that Vodafone will not establish its own e-book store but will try to strike a cooperation with an existing German portal.

Thanks to Johannes from lesen.net for bringing this up!

07:01 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

Here it is again, our weekly roundup! Enjoy!

E-Book General - News and Commentary

• Amazon Kindle not coming to Germany any time soon, says report
• MobileRead hits half million posts milestone!
• Borders UK introduces new reader
• Bridgestone set to make major push into e-paper business
• Macmillan Ebook Poll

E-Book General - Reading Recommendations

• July 2009 Mobile Read Book Club Vote

Miscellaneous - Announcements

• Reminder : Paris, France meetup this saturday ! (4 July 2009)
• Winner of the MobileRead Summer Giveaway!
• Welcome netseeker to the MobileRead gang
• Become a MobileRead Fan on Facebook!

03:30 PM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

I just got an email form Macmillan with a link to a survey. Most of the questions are about ebooks. I'd really appreciate it if everyone would participate. Hopefully if they get enough of a positive response they'll finally get around to selling ebooks. Here is the link:

http://click.mail.macmillan.com/?qs=...785260f923a098

06:54 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Announcements

Fan of MobileRead? Already surrendered your soul to the Mighty Facebook? Then why not join our newly launched MobileRead Facebook Fan Page.

It's easy, it's free, and is guaranteed to make you more attractive*. So join today!

Click here to join the MR Facebook Fan Page

*the truth is, we like friends, we really do, they make us feel popular and cool.

06:32 PM by kaas in E-Book General | News

from endgadget.com:

http://www.engadget.com/2009/07/01/b...aper-business/

Bridgestone's already showed off some fairly impressive e-paper displays, and gone into mass production with displays for inventory tags and whatnot, but it now looks like the company is now set to make its biggest push into the market yet. According to Tech-On, Bridgestone will be announcing details of its plans in July or August, but it appears that the announcement will concern e-paper displays for e-book readers, at least one of which will be A4 in size. That particular screen was making the rounds of exhibitions back in April, and makes use of the company's proprietary "electron powder and granular material" which, among other things, lets the screen rewrite in just 0.8 seconds. Of course, there's no word on any actual devices using the e-paper just yet, but we're hoping that'll be among the details announced in the next month or so.

the more the merrier, I say

cheers,
kaas