02:25 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | Deals and Resources (No...

In an effort to introduce the new multi-author nine-book string of adventures starring beloved Star Wars familiars like the Solos and the Skywalkers, Del Rey decided to release the first volume of the series Star Wars: Legacy of the Force as a free e-book download.

As a special gift to STAR WARS fans, Del Rey will be offering Book One in the series, STAR WARS: LEGACY OF THE FORCE: BETRAYAL, as a free downloadable PDF, audio book, and eBook. This promotional offer will run for two weeks, from 9:00 a.m. Tuesday, April 29, until midnight on Tuesday, May 13. The free download, which can be shared, e-mailed or printed, will be available on http://www.legacyoftheforce.com/.

Del Rey has partnered with booksellers to provide the free download. A1Books.com, Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Booksense.com, Borders.com, Deepdiscount.com, the eBook Store from Sony, Overstock.com, and Powells.com are making the file available to their customers.

[via Pat's Fantasy Hotlist]

06:10 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

What do you get when you take regular paper (you know, the stuff that's made by cutting down trees) and add some science to it? Well, according to Real Paper Displays Inc., a penny-stock company traded on the OTC Bulletin Board (OTCBB: RPPR), the result is a Paper-Like Electronic Display (PED), "with the natural appearance and appeal of real paper and advantages of electronic displays."

From the company's latest annual report:

The patented technology encompasses microbial-produced cellulose capable of displaying fine resolution text and images via the use of electrochromic chemistry and state-of-the-art electronics. In contrast to other “e-paper” applications, this technology derives added value from the fact that the preferred medium for viewing text, data, graphics and art is real paper.

RealPaper Displays claims that in comparison to other companies like E Ink, Ntera, and Kent Displays, their technology offers the widest viewing angle, lower voltage/current requirements, faster switching characteristics and superior contrast ratios. Attached is a comparison chart made by them (obviously outdated, since at least E Ink has recently improved their specs).

In an interview Dr. Robert Kline, Vice Chairman of RealPaper Displays, explains his company's short- and long-term strategies. Bad news for us e-book affecionados... right now, they are specifically targetting the Point-of-Purchase (POP) advertisement market.

08:37 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book Readers | Sony Reader

Sony hasn't really made a peep about their plans to release the Sony Reader device outside the US or Canada. Until now. In an interview with the German newspaper Die Welt, Sony Germany chief Jeffry van Ede revealed his plans to launch the Reader, being a "new growth driver", "as quickly as possible" while seeking alliances with local publishers.

Nun hofft der Manager auf neue Wachstumstreiber. So will er schnellstmöglich den E-Book-Reader nach Deutschland bringen und sucht derzeit nach Partnern für die Inhalte. Mit diesem Gerät lassen sich digitale Bücher lesen. Der Online-Buchhändler Amazon hatte große Aufmerksamkeit hervorgerufen, als er im November in den USA ein vergleichbares Gerät mit dem Namen Kindle einführte.

Sorry no dates yet, but I thought this update is still good food for the soul for all our German e-book fans.

06:17 PM by Bob Russell in E-Book Readers | Alternative Devices

PDAMill has discontinued their support and sales of Palm games. But in a very generous move, they have now made them all available for free. Full, free unlocked versions. With no support, of course.

That's a very nice offer for all of the PalmOS faithful who still use Garnet (OS 5) devices with at least 320x320 screens. If you also have a Windows Mobile device (or get one in the future), be sure to show your appreciation by purchasing one of the Windows Mobile titles from their store!

Visit PDAMill for the PalmOS downloads. No tricks, just a lot of .zip files!

Then, when you feel like crying as you think about the long slow fall of Palm, and the inevitability of a switch to a new OS, you can play games to make yourself feel better. But make no mistake about it. Sure, many of us are mad at Palm and claim we want to escape their products. However, it's all just because of unmet potential and a long string of disappointments. We feel like the jilted lover. If and when Palm can resurrect themselves and offer nice products with PalmOS II rather than just promising them, we'll probably follow Palm to the ends of the earth. They believe in full computing in "the palm of your hand", so they might just win our hearts over the overly consumerized products coming into the market. Throw in a new library of great 3rd party apps, and maybe there's hope after all for Palm.

Now where is that new Foleo? How's this for a prediction you won't hear anywhere else... Palm will produce a Foleo-like product on the Win Mobile platform before they produce PalmOS II products. It's a great way for them to use all the work that went into the original Foleo design, and get an actual product out in the near future. They want that market, and can move to PalmOS II later by promising better integration features for customers. Plus, with support for PalmOS II devices, they might even boost PalmOS II smart phone sales if they can get the Foleos in consumer/enterprise hands. They key is integration features. I'm betting that Jeff Hawkins has not yet tipped his hand in terms of what he intended to accomplish with the Foleo, and the cancelled product was only intended to dip his toe in the waters. Sure, this is all a long shot, but I'm surprised there haven't been speculations about it before.

P.S. A quick note for those that are newer readers of MobileRead wondering why we have Palm coverage here every so often... don't forget that:
1) MobileRead has a tradition of lots of handheld coverage, so we still have a lot of members that are PalmOS device users
2) A very large part of the e-book reading community is reading books on handhelds, not e-ink devices.

[From PalmAddicts. Your best source for everything Palm.]

11:32 AM by Nate the great in E-Book Readers | Amazon Kindle

I just heard from a user that his new Kindle has the version 1.0.8 Kindle firmware. Amazon has yet to announce it. Does anyone else have it?

P.S. If you don't know how to check: the version info is at the bottom the settings menu screen.

P.P.S Karma will go to the first person who posts a screen shot.

07:34 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

The Guardian reports:

A computer hacker [Christopher Tarnovsky] has told a US court he was hired by a subsidiary of Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation to develop pirating software - but denied trying to breach a rival satellite system. ... The hacker told the court he had been paid on a regular basis for 10 years by Harper Collins, News Corp's publishing business.

While book publishers still allow their business decisions to be dictated by an irrational fear of piracy (with the finger pointed at the ruthless Internet user, of course), HarperCollins felt no shame in hiring one of the "two best hackers in the world" (quote EchoStar) to develop "pirating software" (as admitted by Mr. Tarnovsky) and, in addition, to break competing TV encryption systems (as claimed by the plaintiff ).

Irony knows no bounds.

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

Welcome to another digest entry of MobileRead, where we transform the profound into the bite-sized.

E-Books - News

• Kindle is in Stock on Amazon.com (19 April)

E-Books - Elsewhere on the Net

• New children's e-book publisher:Walk Broad Publishing

07:12 PM by Bob Russell in E-Book General | Deals and Resources (No...

When we hear of new e-book publishers, it always makes our ears perk up a bit. Walk Broad Publishing is a new children's e-book publisher with a daring new start from scratch.

We certainly can't argue with the motivation.

Walk Broad Publishing is a company dedicated to bringing quality, original e-books to the Next Generation of Readers.

I started Walk Broad to serve those readers who have embraced e-book reading on their desktops, laptops, tablet PC as well as devices like the Sony Reader, Amazon Kindle, Cybook, iLiad (to name a few) to supplant, or in addition to, paper books.

Being an avid reader of e-books (who prefers them over paper books whenever possible), I am striving to do my part for their more general acceptance.

The first e-book offered is "Good Morning, Friend Moon" for $4.99, currently in "a customized PDF that will work in all available ereader hardware, the Sony Reader, Amazon Kindle, Booken's Cybook and iRex iLiad.

As one looks at the site, the first thought that strikes me is how much work goes into a successful e-book publishing launch. A decent web store, with all the needed information about the books and formats, is already a challenge. Not to mention having good quality books in the first place. Then providing enough formats, and deciding where to start is another hurdle. Some of the veterans like the folks at Manybooks and Feedbooks show us what can be done if you are a sophisticated user.

Of course, there are the decisions to be made about DRM. I'm not sure what Walk Broad has decided, but you have to think that integrating DRM makes it a tough sell. However, I suppose, maybe a standard Digital Editions or Kindle DRM might have a chance, especially with those new to e-books.
And then there is the toughest thing of all. Even if you have top notch writing, and the best web site, and every format is supported and you don't burden the user with DRM... you still have to get people to notice you and be interested in getting your e-books. Free e-books are a great way to attract interest. If you have a great product, the more you grow awareness, the more you can reap the rewards with future sales. It's my firm belief, and I think so far the market bears this out for lesser known writers especially, that offering at least some free (and DRM-free) e-books is really the way to go.

Will Walk Broad Publishing (or the other e-book publishing startups) be successful? I don't know. I hope so. A lucrative market that shows successes from smaller publishers will certainly make e-books much more available to consumers are reasonable prices.

Will $4.99 for a new .pdf e-book from a new unknown publisher cut it? I don't think so. Especially without any obvious sample chapters to preview. But Walk Broad, we wish you well. And it's a long road from starting point to success, so I'm sure we'll see a lot of evolution in your web site, marketing and products over time. Good luck to you!