12:01 PM by RWood in E-Book General | News

If there ever was doubt, Amazon's new Kindle 2 is front and center on the current Amazon home page.

In a letter to everyone from Jeff Beros, the Amazon founder said that the Kindle 2 features:

• New design,
• Improved battery life,
• Crisper display,
• Greater storage, and
• Text-to-speech.

Just as last year's wireless 3G network raised the bar for other readers, so too does the text-to-speech option introduced this year. Now millions of people with poor or no eyesight can hear their books.

Get on-going coverage of the press conference from Nate in this thread.

06:52 PM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

Alright, the whole Kindle 2 thing is getting a little out of hand, but we can't help ourselves to share with you this assortment of cases for Amazon's next wireless reader, with the most interesting being premium cases by Cole Haan.

• Amazon Kindle 2 Leather Cover $29.99
  
• Patagonia Book Case $39.99
  
• Cole Haan Grain Cover Case $99.99
  
• Cole Haan Patent Cover Case $119.99
  
• Cole Haan Smooth Cover Case $99.99
  
  Cole Haan Woven Cover Case $119.99
  
• Belkin Neoprene Sleeve Case $24.99
  

It's probably safe to assume we'll be seeing this bad boy make its debut tomorrow.

02:58 PM by Bob Russell in E-Book Formats | PDF

I don't remember any recent discussion of free PDF software alternatives for a Windows or Linux computer, so maybe it's time to stir up the pot.

For Windows, there is Adobe Reader, Digital Editions that also reads ePub documents, and the program that I've been using... Foxit.

Are there any other really solid (and preferably lightweight) PDF readers out there that we should be considering? What's your favorite?

And for you Linux folks... what do you recommend? (Please be sure to indicate which OS you are discussing!)

07:24 PM by TadW in E-Book General | News

Those gagging for some detailed specs will be disappointed. All the interesting stuff, like user manuals, is inaccessible as the applicant filed a short term confidential request (which expires on April 1st, long after Amazon has introduced the new Kindle I hope). Still, if you love impenetrable digits and charts, the following link is for you.

Kindle 2 Accessible exhibits: link

Kindle 2 Full exhibits list: link

05:28 PM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

These are the same press photos of the Amazon Kindle 2 we posted yesterday, however this time in high resolution.

Enjoy!

07:00 AM by Alexander Turcic in Miscellaneous | Week in Review

Is it really Sunday again? [Edit: No its not, it's Saturday. I should check my watch. Thanks Paul!] Hoorah! Time to dig in to another digest of MobileRead delectables

E-Book General - News and Commentary

• How the Kindle could save the New York Times
• E Ink is hiring despite deteriorating economy
• Cheaper e-books will kill us, says publisher
• Germany gets the Sony Reader on March 11th, 2009
• Adobe Digital Editions with more languages + network install
• Amazon sold half a million Kindles in 2008, says analyst
• The once and future e-book: on reading in the digital age
• 1.5m books in your pocket - with Google Books Mobile
• Kindle shortages by design?
• NYT: Kindle books for everyone (not just Kindles)!
• Test a Sony Reader and keep it for free (if you're in Germany)
• Exclusive: Amazon Kindle 2 official images + price + release date
• Six Factors To Multiply E-Books This Year?

E-Book Devices - iRex Digital Reader

• iRex DR1000 Development VMWare Image
• iRex Digital Reader 1000 Software 1.5 Released
• FBReader .10.2 for the DR1000 Release

Miscellaneous - Lounge

• Which E-book device do you have?

02:10 AM by NatCh in E-Book General | News

Over at Computer World, technology Blogger Mike Elgan has an interesting look at six factors he believes are currently interacting to push us to a cusp point into the world of e-reading.

A lot of it is topics and ideas we've discussed here before, often in great detail, but it's interesting to see his take on how he sees them interacting and why he believes the e-moment is at hand.

Here's his list:

1. The economy: leaner times have folks looking for cheaper entertainment, and Kindle book savings pay for Kindles relatively quickly
2. The environment: primarily doing away with all that paper for daily news consumption
3. A publishing revolution: people starting to self-publish, freelance editing, and the fact that the publishing industry hasn't really changed all that much for ... well, a really long time
4. The rise in aggressive e-book marketing: the publishing industry as being up for grabs to the ones who pursue e-books most aggressively
5. A rise in books written for electronic reading: the nature of the electronic medium will affect the very nature of "books" themselves
6. The decline of the newspaper industry: "The old method of physically delivering blog entries on dead tree pulp is obsolete" -- papers that fail embrace the electronic will simply fade out

It's interesting that the emergence of truly workable tech for e-reading isn't on his list, and equally interesting that the economy is.

His conclusion:

After decades of false starts, the e-book revolution is finally upon us. By this time next year, e-books will be totally mainstream.

You can read the whole thing here.

Personally, I think he makes a decent case, but decent cases have been made for this before. What do you think?

08:23 PM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

Update 3: Now ready for preorder: here

Update 2: Accessories images: posted here

Update: Hi-res images: posted here

Put on your gloves... it's time to rumble! We are happy to present to you the first official photos of the Kindle 2. Yes, we are now pretty much absolutely sure that this is what Amazon is going to present to the world next Monday.

And here is another news for you: The Kindle 2 costs you $359 USD and is going to be available for sale on February 24th, 2009 (edit: unconfirmed, that is).

Related: Amazon Kindle 2.0 to be launched on Feb 9th?, Amazon Kindle 2.0 rumors - price increase