04:35 AM by CommanderROR in More E-Book Readers | Netronix

I contacted Stareread about a review device of the STAReBOOK a few days ago and received a reply today.
Nothing definite yet, but the guy sounded like he was interested (saying he would ready a device ASAP and that he would like to be reviewed by mobileread.com).

I'll keep you posted on the progress of this project. Maybe we'll soon know whether we have another alternative to the Iliad and the Sony Reader.

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

Ok kids, time for the weekly roundup of what we've covered this week:

E-book Devices, Future E-Book Devices
Will the Amazon Kindle cost US$50?

E-book Devices, Sony Portable Reader
Forbes gives Sony Reader short shrift
Borders to exclude Sony Reader from future coupons
Sony Reader let's users read e-books. Period.

E-books, Elsewhere on the Net
December Star Trek e-book sale

E-books, News
Demand for e-readers with E Ink technology on the rise

Miscellaneous, Lounge
Pdf vulnerability through IE can control your computer

Mobile Devices, General Talk
Watch YouTube on your mobile device with Orb
New portable power brick at Sam's Club
Garmin GPS devices can read your messages out loud

Mobile Devices, Handhelds and Smartphones
Palm 700p available in Canada
CorePlayer for PalmOS review by PalmInfocenter
Indications of more Dell Axims

Web to Mobile, General Talk
The Internet Archive is saved from copyright law shutdown

05:21 PM by Bob Russell in E-Book General | Deals and Resources (No...

300 Star Trek e-books from Simon & Schuster are on sale during the month of December. (12/2/06 through 1/3/07)

• Titles regularly priced between $4.50 to $5.99 will now be $3.99
• Titles regularly priced at $6.99 will now be $4.99
• Titles regularly priced between 8.95 and $9.99 will be $5.99

It's not clear whether pricing discounts will just be at SimonSays.com, or if it will be at all Simon & Schuster e-book resellers.

Via Simon & Schuster eBook Blog.

03:45 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

According to Pocket Picks, "Garmin has announced that its nüvi 660, 360 and 360T as well as its StreetPilot c550 are all now able to pair with your phone via Bluetooth, and then read out any text messages that you receive."

That's all fine and good, but I want to know if they can also read e-books from my phone!

02:34 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

The prevailing thought was that Dell is pretty much done with the Dell Axim series of PDAs. While Dell itself simply said they were so far ahead of the competition that they really only needed a refresh and OS update with the X51v, most people thought that their re-evaluation of a slumping market would be the end of their PDA line of products.

But there is new hope from an IDC report quoted by Ed Hardy of Brighthand. "The company [Dell] has finished phasing out some of the older models from its portfolio and is concentrating on developing the Axim X51 platform with faster processors and more memory."

It's really hard to argue that there's much lacking in the Axim relative to the competition, so maybe faster and more memory is about all they are compelled to do. Much of the real improvements need to come from Microsoft and third party applications. Come to think of it, with Vista coming and maybe a Windows Mobile upgrade after that, memory and processor upgrades might be mandatory. In any case, this news is great for consumers, and we hope to see future products in the Dell Axim PDA line.

Via Pocket PC Thoughts.

12:47 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Pocket Power is selling a new power brick at Sam's Club, intended to provide extended battery power to small portable devices.

It's a little hard to tell exactly how it works, but it's a rechargeable NiMH battery that's nicely packaged and only 3.75" x 6" x 1". Oddly, there are no real specs on the battery power rating, nor does it specify how you connect it to charge it. I assume you use one of those power cords that has the two prong A/C connector to plug into the back of a computer.

Might be worth a trip into Sam's Club to check it out if you have a membership.

Via Palm Addicts.

11:57 AM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

So far, the CorePlayer has been quite a disappointment. The free TCPMP audio/video player was spectacular in quality, so one could not help but expect something magnificent for this next round of players that were supposed to be available on just about every platform, and were supposed to turn the player world on it's head.

That might still happen, but so far we've seen visually pretty, but buggy software. We've seen basic features delayed. Trouble on the support and sales web sites. When I submitted questions about how to upgrade (and I was never notified of the upgrade availability either), my email never got a response. You can find the answer at the Palm Addicts forums here, thanks to Lindsey Dyson at Palm Addicts and the CorePlayer forums. I chalk up my purchase price so far as a donation in appreciation for the excellent TCPMP, and the potential that CorePlayer will become better in the future.

The comments that come from the CorePlayer folks themselves have been cryptic and mysterious at best, especially regarding the apparent need to revalidate your software with a central server. So with all the fuzziness surrounding the product, it's a pleasure to see a review that begins to cut though all the press release text and takes a deeper look at the software itself.

The PalmInfocenter review provides good information about the new features, stability, playback quality and more. Don't miss out on the whole article, but his conclusion is very appropriate... "I suspect that if CorePlayer can survive this rough gestational period, subsequent updates will continue to bring more compelling performance and features onboard. While there's certainly nothing overwhelmingly wrong with CorePlayer the app (although some fingers can be pointed at CoreCodec's website and corporate attitude towards their customers), there's currently no overwhelming reason to purchase it when the mature, stable, and no-frills TCMP does nearly everything equally well at a price that can never be beat: free. Nevertheless, Palm OS mobile media affecionados would be well server to keep a close eye on the state of CorePlayer as it continues to mature and improve."

11:36 AM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Recently some folks in Canada have been left out in the cold, so to speak, with the Sony Reader officially available only in the US. Cut off by that little imaginary line at the border.

Well, Palm has got your back. They just announced that they are offering the Palm 700p to Canadian customers. That's the smartphone I currently use, and it's a pleasure to have the additional memory and high speed data. Plus, like many pdas, it's also a very good e-book reader.

Via Palm Addicts.