11:38 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

Kindle DX Product link (should be ready any time - try again if it's not up yet) - It's up!

It's going to be called Kindle DX.

It's going to have a 9.7" screen.

It's going to have wireless.

It's going to cost $489.00

More to follow...

Press Release

Kindle DX Quick Start Guide (PDF)

Kindle DX User Guide (PDF)

Hands-on pics and video

From the description:

• Slim: Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines
• Carry Your Library: Holds up to 3,500 books, periodicals, and documents
• Beautiful Large Display: 9.7" diagonal e-ink screen reads like real paper; boasts 16 shades of gray for clear text and sharp images
• Auto-Rotating Screen: Display auto-rotates from portrait to landscape as you turn the device so you can view full-width maps, graphs, tables, and Web pages
• Built-In PDF Reader: Native PDF support allows you to carry and read all of your personal and professional documents on the go
• Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle DX, anytime, anywhere; no monthly fees, no annual contracts, and no hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots
• Books In Under 60 Seconds: You get free wireless delivery of books in less than 60 seconds; no PC required
• Long Battery Life: Read for days without recharging
• Read-to-Me: With the text-to-speech feature, Kindle DX can read newspapers, magazines, blogs, and books out loud to you, unless the book's rights holder made the feature unavailable
• Big Selection, Low Prices: Over 275,000 books; New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases are only $9.99, unless marked otherwise
• More Than Books: U.S. and international newspapers including the New York Times and Wall Street Journal, magazines including The New Yorker and Time, plus popular blogs, all auto-delivered wirelessly

10:31 AM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

Edit: Nope, I'm wrong.

I think the recently leaked pictures are fakes. It took me a while to come to this conclusion.

The keyboard is what made up my mind. Speaking as someone who has a number of handheld devices, I don't think that the keyboard shown in the pictures is plausible. If you try to hold it and type (as shown in the photos), the device will tip out of your hands. It is simply too top heavy.

So, let's wait an hour and see if I am right.

08:26 AM by Nate the great in E-Book General | News

You may have heard about the leaked pictures yesterday, and the rumored name: Kindle DX.
As of the last night, the link amazon.com/kindledx did not work. Now it leads to a page that shows the K2 plus kindle accessories. I expect Amazon to replace the current page with the new porduct info once it has been formally announced.

If you're wondering why it matters, amazon.com/kindle2 and amazon.com/kindle lead to the Kindle product page. Amazon wouldn't use these high level URLs if they didn't lead to a product.

07:27 AM by DaleDe in Miscellaneous | Announcements

A new feature has been added (thanks Alex) to the MobileRead wiki that allows you to collect a set of pages and turn them into a book for your off-line reading pleasure or handy reference. The book can be created for you or you can save it yourself in PDF or ODT (open office) format. You can also quickly save a single article in PDF format. This is an extension product to the mediawiki source we use for our pages. I still haven't mastered it myself but I am sure some of you will figure all of it out. You can read about it at:
https://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/Help:Books

Note that the new create book menus are dynamic. Add your first page and you will get additional options and the menus on future pages will change. Currently this feature is only available to the more than 500 registered users that have a wiki account. This may change in the future.

Also note that our wiki is under a creative commons license so cannot be used for commercial purposes.

Dale

10:41 AM by anurag in E-Book General | News

From http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/04/te...eader.html?hpw

As early as this week, according to people briefed on the online retailer’s plans, Amazon will introduce a larger version of its Kindle wireless device tailored for displaying newspapers, magazines and perhaps textbooks.

An Amazon spokesman would not comment, but some news organizations, including The New York Times, are expected to be involved in the introduction of the device, according to people briefed on the plans. A spokeswoman for The Times, Catherine J. Mathis, said she could not comment on the company’s relationship with Amazon.

Update: CrunchGear reports: Amazon Kindle press conference on May 6

Update 2: Our colleagues over at Engadget posted something that looks like leaked photos of the so-called Kindle DX. Check them out and decide for yourself: real or fake?

Moderator's note: Thanks to everyone who has sent us in the news!

11:23 AM by Bob Russell in E-Book General | News

You may be familiar with URL shortening services like TinyURL. Instead of a long ugly web site locater string, you get a smaller replacement version that sends you to the same web page. Equally non-human, but short, and a easier to share with others.

Now you can do the same thing in a more creative way. With DickensURL, instead of shortening the URL, you can turn it into a Dickens quote! For example, if we enter "www.Google.com", we get http://dickensurl.com/9/Dead_your_Ma...d_us_every_day with the embedded quote

Dead_your_Majesty_Dead_my_lords_and_gentlemen_Dead _Right_Reverends_and_Wrong_Reverends_of_every_orde r_Dead_men_and_women_born_with_Heavenly_compassion _in_your_hearts_And_dying_thus_around_us_every_day

And for good measure there is also provided a short "Twitter" URL for sharing when size is important (http://dickensurl.com/9).

Granted, this quote for www.Google.com not very uplifting, and could be very insensitive if someone has recently suffered a loss. And if you don't like a quote, you can't just submit it again for another one - it will use the existing quote. But one workaround is to write the URL in slightly different form, such as "Google.com".

Such services are not perfect, though, so use wisely. For example, if their forwarding service stops working, your link is no good. Or if the forwarding process is slow, it can be annoying. And the person using the link doesn't have the comfort or safety of knowing where they are being led.

On the other hand.... who doesn't love Dickens!

From Download Squad

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

I would love to do a hands on review, but Foxit has not followed through on their promise to send me one. I was told at least 3 different times that the unit would ship shortly. I seriously doubt that Foxit has shipped _any_ review units. The only review I have found is by Gear Diary, who had the good sense to buy one rather than wait for a review unit.

The eSlick is selling for $259+shipping, and includes an SD card, case, and a suite of Foxit software. It has no support for a DRM ebook format, although eReader support is promised in a future firmware. The delete function doesn't work.

When the eSlick was first announced, I thought that it could be a great device. At its price point it was a serious competitor in the ebook market. But, the market has changed since then. Ectaco's Jetbook has added support for 2 new ebook file formats, and can be had for under $200. A new firmware was recently announced for the Bookeen Cybook. And the price for the Sony 505 has continued to drop; it can now be bought for the same price as the eSlick.

And then there are the many problems that have been reported on Foxit's forum. There is a problem with the battery draining itself while off. There is a problem with the file history; the eSlick cannot remember your current location for more than 10 books, nor is the information saved if the eSlick reset. The delete function does not work. And then there is the fact that the eSlick doesn't have any bookmark functions. Considering it's an ebook reader, this last is mind boggling.

But there is light on the horizon. A firmware update is promised for Monday. It's supposed to fix most of the existing problems. Given Foxit's track record, I'll believe it when I see it.

My opinion: Keep looking. The eSlick can't compete on price, features, or reliability. I wouldn't get one until Foxit fixes at least 2 of them.

11:42 PM by cbell in E-Book General | News

Reader's Feast, an independent bookstore, is now demonstrating and selling ebook readers.

They have the Bookeen Cybook, Irex iLiad (V2 and Book Edition) and the HanLin V3 in store and they'll sell over the counter. They also accept telephone orders. Reader's Feast is located on the corner of Bourke St and Swanston St Melbourne Australia.