02:13 PM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

News come flowing in into our tattle box, this time about the British Telegraph devoting a short editorial on how leading publishers are increasingly turning towards e-books -- because they have to.

Jeff Gomez, the senior director for online consumer sales and marketing for the Penguin Group in the US, said that publishers had to embrace electronic books if they wanted to survive in the 21st century. "Offering electronic editions for free won't cannibalise the sale of print copies, but will instead give potential consumers an appetite for a book they might have not heard of before," he said.

"Far from causing the book industry's downfall, free access to electronic versions of novels has the potential to be its saviour. And to publishers, struggling for relevance in a digital age, that should be music to their ears."

Thanks to Jorgen for the tip!

Related: E-books might be next step in evolution, says S&P research

01:12 PM by NatCh in E-Book Readers | Sony Reader

Through the gracious auspices of Sony's PR firm, PainePR, I've had the chance to review a 505 unit for the last two weeks (alas, it goes back to them today).

In that time I've tried to focus on the differences that I've seen between the two models, and consider what I think of those differences. I will inevitably re-cover some items that others have mentioned, please bear with me, I'll try to bring out something new on those points, but some I just consider particularly important.

As you will see below, I also tried to get some good figure study shots of the 505, and where applicable side-by-side comparison shots with my much loved 500. I'm not the best photographer in the world, nor do I have a fancy set-up, but hopefully the pix will answer some questions for some folks.

I'll start with the Desktop software because I can cover it fairly quickly. Formerly known as the Connect Reader Software, the new version (as most will know) goes by the name of eBook Library. The new software installed easily over the existing one without any issues that I noticed, even replacing the existing icons for the old software with icons for the new one. I assume that it wouldn't find shortcuts that are in non-standard locations, however, I can't confirm that as I didn't really have any other than the ones the original software created.

It found my existing books, and left my collections as they were, and seems to run a bit faster than the old version. In particular, registering the new device seemed markedly faster, but that could also be improvements in the on-line portion of the operation since the time I registered my 500 last year. I've also found it to be more stable than its predecessor.

A brief note on the Connect Store. I noticed a detail or two in the ConnStore that seem worth mentioning here. I believe the wishlist feature they've added has come up already, but I noticed that you can set up a request for notices of new books by specific authors. This seems like a great idea to me, as I tend to follow certain authors.

Okay, on to the 505 itself!

I should probably start with the display. I've included a couple of side-by-sides of the displays. They're not all that great quality-wise, but they do give a good idea of the difference between the displays themselves, you just have to adjust mentally for the fact that both shots are darker than the reality. The page turn speed may be (very) slightly faster, but the change in the way that the image is refreshed makes it seem to come up faster, and I found it less bothersome than the old one (which, admittedly, didn't bother me much in the first place). The new display is noticeably brighter, and as others have commented, that makes a big difference in lower light situations. I suspect it will be easier to find good clip-on lights for the 505 than it has been for the 500. The most noticeable speed improvement on the display is in navigating menus, where it is markedly quicker.

The unit casing is, as nearly as I can tell, a seamless metal sleeve, with caps at either end. I didn't try to open it (which would be rude), but it looks to me like the thing would be a bear to open without knowing exactly what you were doing. I do like the feel of the casing, texture-wise, but having now seen a silver unit in person, I have to say I remain in "dark-blue" case camp. I do feel that the silver de-emphasizes the e-ink's contrast somewhat.

The stock cover is a nice faux leather (some sort of vinyl at a guess), and I particularly like the fact that it has no nape, inside our out, to pickup dust and such. The cover does fold all the way back, and makes for a nice holding feel. I found that by putting my index (pointing) finger between the two covers, I had a very good grip on the device (see the pix below). As a point of interest, though I've been a big proponent of the wrist lanyard for the 500 model, I didn't miss it on the 505. I think I'd be more likely to put a neck lanyard on it so that I had some protection against dropping, but I don't miss the wrist lanyard for general holding security.

I also found that holding the unit at the bottom, as I would a paperback, with the cover open and my thumb on the larger round page turn button (again see pix) was quite comfortable for either hand. I was actually mildly surprised to find this so. Also the right hand page buttons are a significant improvement over the previous incarnation. I never really had any issues with the original, but there is no question that the new ones are not only bigger and easier to press, they're better positioned, and the shape difference provides a nice tactile reference as to which is which.

The navigation pad is a big improvement over the jogstick -- no more worries about knocking the little stick off. The feel of it is crisp, and the larger ring makes controlling things easier.

Others have commented on the relocation of the power switch. I also found myself trying to turn it on and off on the side, but I adjusted quickly enough. I like the more aggressive texturing on the new power slide, which makes actuating it much easier, and I actually like the top-edge position. It allows the unit to be switched on and off with the cover closed, which is a nice thing. Also, the charge light is on the top now too, which means it can be checked without opening the cover. The new charge light may be a bit brighter as an added bonus.

Under the Settings menu, the Time and Date can now be set without the aid of a computer (pic below), which is nice as the 505 still loses it's time sense after a week or so without talking to a PC. Setting the time and date in this menu is quite straightforward, using the nav-pad and number buttons.

Speaking of the number buttons, I heartily approve of the new placement. Their new location makes selecting menu items with them much more intuitive. The only real drawback I see to the placement is that they're even more likely to get pressed with the cover closed. However, since they just bring up the direct-page-jump box, it's not that big an issue, and simply hitting the Menu button cancels that function.

The buttons in general have a lower profile than the 500 (except the aforementioned power-slide), and I find them overall less prone to accidental pressing. The recessed groove (pic below) for the right hand page turn buttons further protects them in this regard.

A friend commented that she felt that recessed groove might be bad about catching crumbs and other detritus. I've included a special "edge on" shot just for her of the two devices stacked together (505 on top) for a comparison of this point. I can say that after seeing them together I really don't think the new one is likely to be any worse here than the old one.

This review has been pretty positive thus far, but I did find one thing that I consider a negative. The battery life on the 505 unit I reviewed was not as good as I expected. It dropped 2 blocks in a week, (my 500 only dropped 1 in the same time), but after recharging it dropped 2 blocks in a bit more than a week, so this may be an artifact of the battery needing a cycle or three to get its footing, so that should be taken with a grain of salt.

As an overall conclusion, I find the 505 to be a good follow up of the 500, it's not a radical redesign, or a massive upgrade, but neither is this year's Dell all that big a jump over last year's Dell. This seems to me to be a generational progression, and I take that to be a good sign. It suggests to me that Sony is serious (as they've commented) about staying in this market. The improvements being slow suggests to me that they're not trying to make a big jump just to persuade a relatively small user pool will re-buy the new model, but rather they're aiming more to get new buyers to join the PRS club. If they had waited three years and come out with the 505, I'd be very concerned, but releasing the 505's improvements only one year after the 500, I take to be an encouraging sign of Sony's design attitude toward the product.

Will I upgrade? Probably not this year.

.

12:57 PM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

It's been a long time coming, but finally research analysts recognize the value of e-books! Kimberly Castro, research editor at S&P, says that e-books are on the rise, thanks to recent developments in display technology and to joined efforts of book-relevant industry players. S&P's parent, McGraw-Hill, stated earlier that e-books made a strong contribution to their third-quarter earnings this year.

Terry McGraw, McGraw-Hill's chairman and chief executive, expects more growth in the digital world with the fall debut of CourseSmart, a new college publisher cooperative e-book and e-commerce Web site. "For students, CourseSmart offers a lower-cost alternative and all the functionality of a Web application," says McGraw. "Our higher-end group is starting with 148 e-books. Over time, thousands of textbooks will be available on this common platform."

In support of her view, Mrs. Castro lists various e-reader devices that have entered the market just this and the previous year. She also mentions the Amazon Kindle, that, according to her, has debuted this month. Did we miss something?

Link: The Future of E-Books (BusinessWeek)

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

There's been a whole heck of a lot of stuff happening this week. Purvey the below for your pleasure.

E-books - News

• Bridgestone A3 4096 Color QR-LPD Display
• OCRopus - Google's open source Linux software
• Hachette Book Group chooses epub
• At Last: *Front-Lit* E-Ink, Flexible E-Ink and ... E-Ink Watches!

E-books - Reading Software

• Adobe patches latest Reader security flaw

E-book Devices - iRex iLiad

• Minimo Installer for the iLiad (beta)

E-book Devices - Sony Portable Reader

• Sony Reader PRS-505 Review: Impressions after a longer tryout
• Sony Reader PRS-505 gets a "green" review

E-book Devices - Bookeen Cybook Gen3

• Sneak peek at the Bookeen Cybook Gen3 packaging

E-book Devices - Future E-Book Devices

• Plastic Logic 'well on schedule to begin with production in the middle of next year'

Mobile Devices - Handhelds and Smartphones

• eReader Pro now free for Windows Mobile

Miscellaneous - Feedback

• MobileRead Wiki: Use cases needed

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

Apparently E-Ink is being sneaky. There's nothing on their own site, but they have been showing of some new kit at the FDP International In Japan.

Engadget is reporting that they are showing off a front-lit e-ink panel, the front lighting developed by Alps Electric. And mentions that they also have a flexible (read "not rigid" here) 9.7 inch panel on display.

Tech-On further elaborates that the front light "has a structure similar to the front light used in LCD panels, although its design was optimized for e-paper by 'finely adjusting the prism angle.'"

The 9.7 inch panel has an integrated flexible TFT substrate and a resolution of 1200 x 820. This panel, unsurprisingly, was made by our friends at PVI in Taiwan. And Tech-On notes that, "Mass production is scheduled for the second quarter of 2008."

And here's a bit of info that I don't believe we have seen before:

E Ink is promoting the development of flexible active-matrix e-paper by combining it with the flexible TFT substrates developed by several manufacturers including LG Philips LCD Co Ltd of Korea and Plastic Logic Ltd of UK, in addition to Prime View International.

That sounds like something to watch.

I'm probably a goober, but I'm particularly interested in the watches.

The wristwatch with an e-paper face was reportedly developed by Art Tech, a US-Hong Kong joint venture. By switching over the display on the watch face, users can enjoy various face patterns. The product is slated for release in December 2007.

I'll be watching for those!

Thanks to Alisa for the heads up on this one! Please join the on-going discussion here.

02:51 PM by jasonkchapman in E-Book General | News

According to this Publishers Weekly item, Hachette Book Group (Little, Brown and Company, Orbit, etc.), has become the first major publishing house to standardize on the .epub format for all of its e-book content.

05:01 PM by Adam B. in More E-Book Readers | iRex

I'm releasing a beta of Mozilla Minimo for the iLiad.

This hasn't been thoroughly tested, so your mileage may very. It's a standard installer, but it will remove the existing Minimo on your iLiad. It's possible that it may break the stock html viewer. This is only available for 2.11, so you can reflash if you have any problems.

I'm attaching some screenshots.

To exit the program, open a new tab, or change settings, you will need to choose from the menu on the upper left (there's not an icon for the menu, just blank space). See the screenshots for an example.

Please give me lots of feedback. The refreshed can be changed by editing the iliad_refresh.conf in the Minimo folder of your programs directory. You can find any error output in output.txt

Edit: Attachment Updated. Should fix some refresh issues. Added connection manager scripts from Dillo.

Those who previously installed should be able to run new installer without issues.

03:49 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book Software | Reading and Management

Adobe on Tuesday issued a new version of Reader and Acrobat to fix what they called a "critical" security vulnerability in the programs that hackers could use take control of affected systems.

Adobe recommends that you either use their automatic update feature to install version 8.1.1 or manually download and install the update.

Disclosure of the security exploit and official description: link and link