08:16 AM by Alexander Turcic in More E-Book Readers | Netronix

Whether that's gospel truth or just marketing hype, DigiTimes reports that the STAReBOOK e-reader - the Chinese equivalent to the Sony Reader - is now available in Taiwan. The reason for me being suspicious is that nobody of us here has actually seen the STAReBOOK in real life, despite the fact that, according to some earlier statement by eREAD, the first batch of the STAReBOOK was already sold out in Taiwan last month.

So we are still desperately waiting to get our hands on this one for a closer look.

01:18 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Ilium has just released version 5.0 of eWallet for PalmOS, Windows Mobile, Windows Smartphone and Windows desktop.

Only a handful of core programs can truly be called essentials for a PDA or smartphone, and in my opinion this is one of them. Keeping passwords securely and conveniently on a mobile device is one of the most important functions, and it's usually not well supported with built-in software. In addition, automatically having an encrypted backup on your home PC is important in case the device is ever broken or lost. In this day and age of passwords everywhere, you can't remember them all, and keeping them unencrypted is asking for trouble.

One of the main reasons I like eWallet is that there is a version for PalmOS and Windows Mobile, so switching platforms is seamless. I already made the move that way from Windows Mobile to PalmOS using eWallet, and it was very nice to have one less thing to worry about.

Ilium has made everything simple to use, and you can either do the fancy cards for a nice graphic representation of each account/password, or you can throw them in as text lists like I do for simplicity.

A summary of the improvements included in eWallet 5.0:
- Synchronize with as many wallets with as many PCs and devices as you want
- Synchronize with servers and other PCs on a network
- Synchronize to other folders on the same PC for automated backups
- Synchronize to removable storage devices (USB, removable hard drives, etc.)
- Synchronize with remote locations via FTP
- Built-in online backup/viewing capability through FilesAnywhere sync
- Brand new sync setup interface
- Full support for Vista and Mobile Device Center
- All new icon set
- Four self-installing icon packs
- eWallet Companion step-by-step help tool
- Graphics, icons, and sounds stored in My Documents now making it easier to customize
- "No Password Needed" wallet option

You might also want to take a look at some of the other well-known products they offer, like ListPro or NewsBreak.

05:45 AM by Alexander Turcic in More E-Book Readers | Bookeen

Last week Marian and Nat broke the news of Bookeen's plans to introduce their own e-reader based on E Ink technology. What's interesting is that given a minimum order size (which is still unknown), Bookeen may allow us to customize the reader's feature set for ourselves.

MobileReader Yvan has been in contact with Bookeen since and he came up with an ingenious plan. He put up a poll where you can tell us if you would want to buy a Bookeen E Ink reader, and if yes, at what price and in how many units. In Yvan's words:

Take a look at the poll. For now I only put up the prices so as to put a number on the people in favor of owning a Bookeen E Ink reader. And since we can vote only once I added quantity choices for those who would like to give one. That would weigh in the balance.

After you vote I invite you to post the features you want and then in a subsequent thread I'll set a poll with the features. Then we'll make another poll to clarify our choices. It'll be complicated but it will work. I have a personal request. I want a Mobile Read logo on the thing!

So here is our chance for our own e-book reader! Go ahead and jump straight to the poll!

06:28 PM by NatCh in E-Book Readers | Sony Reader

By now many of you have noticed yvanleterrible’s new Avatar, and may be interested in knowing a bit more about it.

Back around the end of October, Yvan asked me if I’d be willing to review a box if he went ahead and built one. I said I’d be willing if he wanted to do so. On Monday, December 4th the prototype arrived.

Before I go too far, I need to point out clearly that this is a prototype, and has a (surprisingly) few prototype-related issues. These are primarily a result of the fact that it was built entirely from measurements that were transmitted over e-mail. Yvan, being in Canada, has not yet seen a Reader for himself (since Sony, in its wisdom, has not yet launched the Reader there -- something that we all hope will change shortly). It’s really tough to build something to fit an object that you’ve never seen for yourself, so please keep that in mind as you read. Also, since I’m the one who took the measurements for him, I claim the lion’s share of responsibility for any faults that came from them. I’m also fully confident that Yvan will be able to fully resolve those faults in future builds (we’re working to fine tune the measurements) -- that's part of what prototypes are for, after all.

Also Yvan specifically requested that I make it clear that this is very much a luxury item. It’s pretty pricey at $384 ($310 without lighting), but it’s also extremely nice.

Okay, on to the box itself. My only coherent thought for the first five minutes or so after opening the packaging was a constant refrain of “It’s be-yu-tee-ful!” The box is a gorgeous piece of work, made of Zebrano wood with Blackwood accents its appearance is quite striking (see attached pictures, please). The finish on the box is a nice lacquer, and the form of it is very pleasant to look at and to hold, with flowing rounded corners and edges that are a joy to the touch. The overall construction is very tight, and the joining work is excellent. I’m not a professional woodworker, but my father was in a former life, and I watched him enough growing up to know good work when I see it, and this is very good work, indeed.

The lid’s pin and socket latch closes with a satisfying, muted click, which reassures that it will stay that way. The lining of the prototype is black felt (there’s been some discussion of adding strategically placed neoprene in the future). Running along each of the left and right edges of the lid are two LED “track lights” (ten LEDs in all, five on either edge) which do a marvelous job of lighting the screen with minimal glare -- the trick is to get the lid’s angle to the rest of the box just right (it’s a bit off in the attached pictures). The lighting is controlled by a sliding switch as well as a switch that turns the lights off automatically when the lid is closed, which reduces drain on the batteries -- just get the lid closed before dozing off completely. The lights are powered by AAA batteries, so they should last a good while on a set, and I’ve noticed no dimming in a week of use. The batteries are behind a screw-down cover in the prototype, but Yvan has plans to change that to something easier to deal with in future boxes.

The felt on the inside of the lid is a nice double-thick piece that adds an extra layer of protection for the screen. The Reader sits in the base of the box between two contoured “stabilizers” which keep it from moving around in the box. This is the first prototype issue that I’d like to comment on, and it’s a result of the difficulty of getting accurate measurements from Houston to Montreal. The stabilizers allow about 1/16th of an inch too much play side to side and top to bottom, they also could be a bit taller relative to the Reader’s thickness. Yvan is looking into lining them with neoprene to provide more ‘grab’ on the Reader itself, and as I said, we’re working on getting better measurements. As it is, I’ve found a bit of sticky-backed Velcro grabs the felt nicely to hold the Reader firmly in place.

That really is the only fit drawback I’ve seen with the box, given more accurate measurements, I’m quite confident it will be entirely resolved.

The box also includes connection points for a shoulder/neck strap. The ones you see in the pictures are not the ones that Yvan intends to use long-term, but they were available when he needed them on short notice, so take that into account.

I’ve been using the box for about a week now, so I think I’ve got a reasonably good feel for it. Far and away the most useful aspect of the box is the lighting. I found that if I put the Reader “upside-down” in the box (with the base of the Reader toward the hinges) then the lid makes an excellent reading stand for lying in bed. The lights illuminate the screen fully, and, as I mentioned, with very little glare (right at the edges of the corners). When I get ready to doze off, I just close the lid, the lights turn off automatically, and I let the Reader turn itself off on its own schedule (an hour). I can set the box aside without needing to worry about anything else. Including missing the night table, which brings me to the next best thing about the box, it’s very good protection for the Reader. When closed, the Reader is surrounded on all sides by nice, sturdy wood. No need to worry about the screen, or drops from reasonable heights. Of course such drops may do undesirable things to the wood, but the Reader ought to be fine. Note that I did not go tossing it about to test this.

I also found the box to be nice for reading in a seated position where I can rest it on a desk/table top, or in my lap. The extra width that the box adds around the edges of the Reader actually makes the page buttons (all 3 of them) much more comfortable for me to reach. Results on this point will naturally vary with hand size.

On the down-side, the box is fairly heavy, which makes reading with it unsupported (standing or walking, for example) rather less than optimal. It’s made of wood, and wood has to be thicker (and thus, heavier) than plastic or metal to get an equivalent degree of strength. Yvan was able to suggest a couple of techniques with a neck strap that mitigated this problem a good deal. One approach was to use the neck strap with the Reader upside-down in the case again, so that the lid rests against the chest, this let the weight be mainly on the strap. The approach that worked best (but requires a longer strap) is to cross the strap in an X under the base of the box, and then run the sides of the strap to either side of the open lid, and then around the neck. This supports almost all of the weight on the strap, and requires only a gentle bit of control grip to keep the box from moving around too much, keeping a thumb on the page buttons worked just fine for this.

The only other issue I ran into was with the hinge screws. They wanted to back out with the opening and closing of the lid. This was addressed easily enough by putting a very small amount of plain white glue on the threads, tightening the screws down where I wanted them, and letting it set for a few hours. That prevents the screws from backing up, but isn’t strong enough to be a problem if you decide for some reason that you want them out again later. Yvan is also looking at alternatives for this, but as it is, it’s quite manageable for the willing.

Overall, my impression of this box is extremely favorable, but I’ve tried to touch equally on what seem to me to be the points of interest and concern, so that you get a good balanced look at the box. My conclusion is that If you’re looking for a true ‘Cadillac’ carrying case, this one could very well be what you’re looking for.

As always, I’ll be glad to answer any questions y’all might have, and I imagine that Yvan just might be willing to comment on some of the more specific details.

P.S. I want to add a couple more pix to show the fit on the ends better (my first ones came out blurry), but I wanted to go ahead and get this up today, so look for a couple-few more pix later tonight or tomorrow. Done -- should've noted it before.

04:10 AM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | Deals and Resources (No...

In the footsteps of Cory Doctorow, Peter Watts is one of the few authors who release their novels under a Creative Commons license. His latest work, Blindsight (available as PDF and HTML) deals with the familiar theme of alien first contact and has a current Amazon star rating of 4-1/2 out of 5. From Publishers Weekly:

In the late 21st century, when something alien is discovered beyond the edge of the solar system, the spaceship Theseus sets out to make contact. Led by an enigmatic AI and a genetically engineered vampire, the crew includes a biologist who's more machine than human, a linguist with surgically induced multiple personality disorder, a professional soldier who's a pacifist, and Siri Keeton, a man with only half a brain. Keeton is virtually incapable of empathy, but he has a savant's ability to model and predict the actions of others without understanding them. Once the Theseus arrives at the gigantic and hideously dangerous alien artifact (which has tellingly self-named itself Rorschach), the crew must deal with beings who speak English fluently but who may, paradoxically, not even be sentient, at least as we understand the term. Watts puts a terrifying and original spin on the familiar alien contact story.

Other stories by Peter Watts under CC include:

• Free e-book: "Maelstrom" converted for iSilo and Plucker
• Free e-book: "Starfish" converted for iSilo and Plucker

Thanks to Michele for the heads-up!

06:11 PM by Bob Russell in E-Book General | News

"'Math hasn't changed since Isaac Newton,' declares Scott McNealy. So why, he asks, is California paying some $400 million annually to 'update' grade-school textbooks?"

That's some of the motivation from Scott McNealy that Forbes has reported on recently. It turns out that there is a lot of money being made from textbooks that just might not be really adding any value to what a global community effort can do. In fact, the community effort might turn out to be better and more timely, and Scott McNealy is just the sort of individual that might be able to make it a success.

But it turns out that the future of textbooks is also somewhat in the hands of world governments. According to the Booksellers Association Blog, "the Chinese government plans to issue 165 million students with ebook readers and in doing so obviate the need to buy textbooks." Furthermore, "Libya could now become the first country to provide every school-age child with a laptop computer and internet connection." This is through the OLPC (One Laptop Per Child) intiative, which "has also reached tentative purchase agreements with Argentina, Brazil, Nigeria and Thailand."

As we develop and learn how to do open source textbooks, and as e-book and laptop technology advanced, it is hard to argue that paper books will dominate in the future of the classroom. Paper may not be completely eliminated, but it certainly looks like it will have to share the spotlight with e-books.

07:00 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-book Devices, eREAD STAReBOOK
STAReBOOK review on MobileRead soon?

E-book Devices, iRex iLiad
iLiad e-reader firmware 2.8 released

01:42 PM by Alexander Turcic in More E-Book Readers | iRex

Although it's not Christmas yet, iLiad users can rejoice because iRex engineers have just issued firmware 2.8 for the iRex iLiad e-reader. The upgrade includes:

• 10% additional battery life (when sound disabled)
• Personalized PIN code
• Recently opened documents view
• Configurable flipbar
• Key buffering
• German language support
• Scribble: annotation support on PDF documents
• Continuous PDF view mode
• More accurate PDF zoom
• Background iDS connectivity
• Fixed stylus responsiveness

See attached release notes for full information. If you like to discuss the release, please do it in this thread.

Thanks to Pitchfork and VillageReader for bringing the news first.