11:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in More E-Book Readers | iRex

Time for all iRex DR fans to rejoice as the iRex engineers have just issued firmware 1.6 for the Digital Reader device.

Changes/additions:

• Improved standby mode: The sleep mode has been replaced with an unobtrusive Standby Mode. The system will no longer show ‘zZz’ and wake-up instantly
• Improved battery life: 10% more!
• PressReader V2: Introducing enhanced navigation features including easy-to-read text views, article hyperlinks, and interactive tables of content
• PDF documents now open faster
• Improved on-screen keyboard: The on-screen keyboard will now provide faster feedback
• Disabled automatic scribble: When opening a WritePad template, the Pencil does not turn on automatically
• Disabled blinking LED: The Main LED will no longer blink while the device is idle
• Various bug fixes

For the ongoing discussion, please visit this thread.

Further Links: release notes with update instruction, downloadable firmware

10:22 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

Thanks to an anonymous contributor for pointing out this little info tidbit which claims that we might soon see third-party advertisement enriching our reading experience on the Sony Reader. The article referred to Steve Haber, president of Sony's Digital Reading Business Division, who indicated that ads would be possible as "more publishers come on board."

It remains open to speculation, though, how advertisement would be delivered. Wireless connectivity, anyone?

10:21 AM by KarlB in E-Book Readers | Amazon Kindle

This apparently began yesterday. See Toni Morrison's A Mercy for example, and note the text "Text-to-Speech: Not enabled" below the price information. I did a more-or-less random scan of popular novels in the Kindle store and found 14 out of 42 books had this annotation.

Get out the Crayolas and color me not-happy.

06:25 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

Things have been relatively quiet on Pixel Qi's 3Qi e-paper technology which we thought to arrive this month. If you believe uncorroborated early reports, 3Qi will not only be cheaper to produce than E Ink panels but also come with full color and video capability. The Wired magazine has now thankfully come through and stirred the pot a bit, reporting that Pixel Qi "plans to have samples of its display out within the next two months" with the first commercial displays to follow "later this year."

Pixel Qi’s displays called 3Qi will operate in three settings: a full-color, bright, conventional LCD mode; a very low-power, sunlight-readable, reflective e-paper mode; and a low-power, basic color transflective mode. The screens are initially expected to be available in 10.5-inch and 7.5-inch screen sizes.

If successful, the 3Qi displays could effectively bridge the high-speed, full-color benefits of traditional LCDs and the low-power, reader-friendly qualities of electronic ink displays. The market for electronic ink is currently led by Cambridge, Massachusetts-based E Ink, whose extremely low power, sunlight-readable electrophoretic displays are used in the majority of e-book readers today, including the successful Amazon.com Kindle and Kindle 2. However, despite the readability of E Ink’s screens, the displays take a second or two to refresh, making them unsuitable for video or animation. Also, they are currently only available in monochrome.

Unlike E Ink, 3Qi is still based on traditional LCD technology, which is why it's cheaper to produce - you can use existing LCD production lines. Unfortunately, only time will tell how well 3Qi performs in comparison to E Ink - in particular in regard to low-power usage and readability.

Link: Pixel Qi Promises Cheap, Readable, Low-Power Displays (Wired)

06:07 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

Piracy is on the rise and publishers are increasingly worried about the impact on their business - we have heard it before. Nonetheless, check out this article from the New York Times this week which raises some interesting points.

Book sales are down significantly, and publishers say it is difficult to determine whether electronic piracy is denting sales. Some of the most frequently uploaded books, like the “Twilight” series, are also huge best sellers.

Others view digital piracy as a way for new readers to discover writers. Cory Doctorow, a novelist whose young adult novel “Little Brother” spent seven weeks on the New York Times children’s chapter books best-seller list last year, offers free electronic versions of his books on the same day they are published in hardcover. He believes free versions, even unauthorized ones, entice new readers.

Join the ongoing discussion over here.

Thanks to MobileReader Boston for the news!

05:42 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

For the download-obsessed, unquenchable binary junky, there may be nothing more tantalizing than downloading a politicial campaign doctrine to a Kindle device. If you happen to be a Montanan and if you always wanted to turn your Kindle into a political propaganda machine (hint: use the text-to-speech feature when you're in a crowd), this is your chance.

Tyler Gernant has become the first candidate for political office to offer his position papers via Amazon Kindle. A portion of the 99 cents goes to Amazon for hosting the campaign materials but all proceeds on our end will go towards the purchase of tree saplings. Periodically we will update you on how many trees we will be able to purchase and then during the Montana planting season, the Gernant for Congress campaign will engage in a volunteer effort to reinvest in one of the state’s most valuable natural resources by planting trees.

More: Tyler Gernant homepage

[via The Missoulian]

06:01 PM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Announcements

We've never been part of the chorus sounding the death knell for RSS feeds, but if you like to keep up with your regular dose of e-books news via other avenues, check out the newly launched MobileRead Twitter feed (which pushes only our frontpage stories).

Another new feature (still under review) allows you to track the latest postings of your fellow MobileReader via RSS feed. See the attached screenshot for an example.

12:35 PM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

Into a rather boring space dominated by gray consumer products, ColorWare brings some seriously professional gadget painting to the Kindle 2.

You can send in your existing Kindle 2 and have them color it up for $200-250, or buy a pre-colored new Kindle 2 for $600-650 (depending on what you choose to colorize). Not a bad deal if you really want to get an even bigger head start on differentiating yourself from other Kindle users.

Will it void your warranty? My guess - yes. But more importantly, who'll come up with the grandest color design?

[via SlashGear]