02:55 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

SlingBox has indicated for a while that there would be a mobile client for PalmOS. (The Windows Mobile version is already available.) You can now apply to be a beta tester.

For newcomers, SlingBox is a physical box that sits by your TV at home, and with a high speed internet connection, it makes it possible to watch TV remotely. If you are lucky enough to be chosen as a beta tester, you can do it with PalmOS now.

If not, be sure to check out Orb, which has a free all software solution. You just need a TV tuner on your PC and a high speed internet connection. Even without a TV tuner, you can still stream other video from your home PC.

Via JkOnTheRun.

10:55 AM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

PC Plus is reporting on this interesting tidbit about Dell... "A senior Dell executive has admitted the company could look to make a gaming handheld in future." When further asked about it, he replied "You know, that's definitely one that's on the radar screen, but we have no plans to talk about anything today." Sounds to me like it will be another platform to read e-books on!

As expected, there is not enough detail to know whether planning is general strategic long term planning, or whether they are actually doing product design and making manufacturing agreements.

Via Palm Addicts and Brighthand.

08:58 AM by Anchoku in E-Book General | News

Here is an article from the Philadelphia Enquirer giving a quick overview of Universal Display Corp., another company on the forefront of display technology.

After a dozen years of trial and error, a New Jersey company run by a couple of guys who live on the Main Line has emerged as a leading developer of technology that could improve cell phones, laptop computers and television sets.

Later, this technology could be used to illuminate homes and offices, using less energy.

Universal Display Corp. also has developed methods to display text and moving pictures on a durable flexible material that in the future could be rolled up in a pocket-size tube with a tiny radio receiver. This could change the way people read newspapers or give soldiers in battle up-to-the-minute maps and intelligence photographs.

While the article starts off rather empty, there are some more substantive facts included further on. These folks, while not having an e-product, nevertheless should be considered one of the possible e-book display device developers.

Related: Rollable color OLED prototype display

05:30 AM by TadW in Archive | Mobile Sites

If you are a wannabe superstar trader, you should check out Quote's just launched mobile site that can be accessed with any connected mobile device and offers various goodies, including stock, futures, Forex and mutual fund quotes, business news and charts. Link:

http://www.quote.mobi/

10:49 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | Deals and Resources (No...

Our friends at Palm Addicts have digged out the latest discount you can apply when purchasing e-books from eReader.com:

Punch in this week's Promo Code 3ER7C to receive a 10% discount off any eligible book that you purchase. Offer good through February 6, 2007 on all books priced more than $3.00. This discount cannot be used with any other special offers.

10:42 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

Imagine the only thing you need to bring to school is your brain and the Sony Reader. Faculty members of the Winthrop University are currently evaluating the Sony Reader as an alternative to hauling 10-pound books to class.

Students will get a chance to test out the e-readers next semester. Based on all the feedback, school leaders will decide whether or not to make a larger investment.

Read the full article here.

Related: Dutch school to launch iRex iLiad experiment

02:44 PM by CommanderROR in More E-Book Readers | Netronix

As most of you probably remember, I received a review sample of the STAReBOOK last monday.
I have posted pictures, a video and a review so far.

Now I've had some more time to evaluate the device and would like to add a few things to my previous review.

Ergonomics:

I have done quite a lot of reading this past week, as much as my limited spare time allowed. I used the STAReBOOK in a number of situations, reading on the couch, in bed, while eating and while installing software on my computer...more about that later...
The device is very comfortable to hold, it's weight is the main helper here. You can even use it left-handed (although the controls are on the wrong side for that) because it's small form-factor and the 176g weight help you hold it in ways that would cause you a lot of discomfort if it were heavier.
In all scenarios I tested the device was easy and secure to hold. The slightly rubberized backside also helps more than you would think at first, giving you a more secure grip without using a lot of finger pressure. Unlike the Iliad, I seldom rested the STAReBOOK on anything for additional support.

Durability:

Of course it's hard to talk about durabilty after such a short time, so I'll make it short. I have found no obvious reasons why this device should not last quite some time. The keys seem to be well constructed, the frame feels solid (and it does not creak quite as ominously as the Iliad does if you twist it slightly... ) and nothing rattles as far as I could discover. I also dropped it (not on purpose!!!) yesterday evening and it still works just like before (it fell from my hand to the (hard) carpet floor) and has no sign of damage to either casing or screen. I never dropped the Iliad so far, so I can't really say how that device would have survived the fall.

Reading Experience:

Now this is the main point...
I finished two books and am well into my third right now. During this week I noticed just how much the Iliad with it's slow booting times and miserable battery-life has disrupted my reading habits.
I'm not really somebody who reserves two hours a day for reading. I prefer to just pick up a book whenever I have a moment, read a few pages and then put it away again. With the Iliad this is not possible. If I leave it on all day, then it'll be out of battery before I go to bed.
I left the STAReBOOK on from Monday to Saturday, I did not even switch it off during the night. The battery did not last as long as I had hoped, it stopped working on Saturday morning (I had charged it fully on Monday around 2:00 PM). On Saturday morning it then switched itself off. Apparently, the STAReBOOK is not using Suspend mode, it seems to be doing "low-power-mode" between pageturns and thus runs out of juice a lot faster than the Sony Reader (as far as I've heard, I don't have one unfortunately).
I asked staretek about the possibility of adding Suspend mode to the STAReBOOK, but so far have not received a reply. I'll keep you posted on the progress here.
Even without Suspend, the device does well enough, if you turn it off overnight you only have to boot it once a day and it should last almost two weeks, so I guess that's good enough for most.
Now let's get back to the reading experience...
Even though it uses ugly fonts and bad formatting, I enjoyed reading on the STAReBOOK a lot more than I did reading on the Iliad. The keyword here is Simplicity. I read, put the book down with the last-read page displaying (it loses a bit of contrast over time, but the text is always readable) and then I just grab it again as soon as I have a moment and can continue from where I was, not restart, no delay at all. That is what really sets this device apart from the Iliad in my eyes. It is a lot more paper-like and comfortable. If they manage to bring more formats, improve the fonts and line-breaking and maybe add suspend then this could very well be the ultimate device, now it's not quite there yet, but for reading purposes it beats the Iliad any day. Technical documents with illustrations, annotations and similar purposes, here the crown goes to the Iliad, even in it's unfinished state, but for a ficion-reader I would never hesitate to recommend this one.

Summary:

The STAReBOOK is a very nice device. The design is cool, it feels good and is easy to hold, even for longer reading sessions. It's battery life could be better, but it's OK as it is if you are willing to accept the compromise.
There is still work to be done when it comes to format support and formatting (and perhaps a Suspend mode could be added?) but it is already a very comfortable eReading solution. Added benefits like mp3 playack (I still have not tested, sorry) and nice little features like bookmarks, last-read book, favourites (list of last read books) and auto-refresh for the menus (I guess to prevent heavier ghosting after longer inactivity) make it even nicer. It's not quite there yet, but it's close. I would like to see the STAReBOOK with improved software go up against the SonyReader sometime...that would be a really interesting match since they are both fighting for the same market. The Iliad is a very different device, I'm pretty sure it will never even come close to matching the STAReBOOK, even in it's current state, as an ebook, but if iRex ever manage to use the features their hardware promises, then I guess it can still turn into a good infopad, newspaper reader or PDA.

01:38 PM by Bob Russell in E-Book Readers | Sony Reader

Revealed here is a pre-release version of a Sony document obtained by MobileRead. It is called "User’s Guide to Creating PDFs for the Sony® Reader", and as expected, the information contained covers how to prepare PDF documents that are optimized for the Sony Reader. We expect a similar version to be officially released from Sony in the near future.

While the instructions themselves are in a PDF, the file is not (yet) optimized for the Reader. Here, from the contents, is a list of the topics included:

I. Introduction
Portable Document Format / PDF Creation Software / Sony® Reader screen dimensions and specifications / Font recommendations for the Sony® Reader

II. Creating PDFs from Word Processing Documents
Create word processing documents with optimized dimensions and layout in Microsoft® Word and OpenOffice.org Writer / Generate PDFs with appropriate settings using Adobe PDF or PDF Creator printer

III. Creating PDFs from Presentations
Create presentations with optimized dimensions and layout in Microsoft® PowerPoint and OpenOffice.org Impress / Generate PDFs with appropriate settings using Adobe PDF or PDF Creator printer

IV. Creating PDFs from Professional Layout Applications
Create presentations with optimized dimensions and layout in QuarkXPress® software and Adobe® InDesign / Ensure proper font and image embedding / Generate PDFs with appropriate settings using Adobe PDF or PDF Creator printer

V. Doing more with Adobe® Acrobat
Reformat an existing PDF for use on the Sony® Reader 􀁸 Enhance navigation of your PDF with internal linking / Create a Sony® Reader-optimized PDF preset for streamlined PDF generation / Import an existing Sony® Reader-optimized PDF preset into your system

As we look at the font recommendations, for example, we immediately see that the document can at best hope to be some general guidelines. No matter what is recommended, there will be differences of opinion because individual tastes will vary. For example, I prefer a size 16 serif font like Times Roman. But Sony states general guidelines as follows: "A range of fonts and font sizes will display clearly in PDFs on the Sony Reader. As a general starting point, we recommend using Arial and Times Roman as base fonts at sizes of 7 points. Text is legible at 6 points, though at this size it can lose some clarity. Large fonts will tend to use up screen space rather rapidly given the maximum document dimensions." The idea appears to be that one should use a smaller size in order to maximize the words on a screen as much as possible, while allowing the Sony Reader to scale the text to larger sizes when desired by the user.

It will be very interesting to see how the recommendations are received when analyzed more carefully by the MobileRead community, but this is definitely a welcome addition from Sony. It is not just some casual document thrown together by novices, but is something that appears to be both informative and useful. Kudos to Sony for providing it as part of their commitment to the product.