12:58 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

The newest version of CorePlayer is scheduled for an Oct 16, 2006 release according to the web page.

CorePlayer is expected to eventually run on platforms such as PalmOS, Windows Mobile, various flavors of Windows, and more. It will include major enhancements to the existing TCMP software that is already extremely popular, and at some point should include streaming media support, skins, playlists, and a number of other improvements.

When this software was made available orginally for Palm, I remember Ed Colligan even referring to it's availability, but without naming the software probably to avoid offending Palm's software partners.

This release is also expected to have a commercial version that includes additional codec support, and probably a more limited free version will still be made available. Based on an old interview with one of the team members, they want very much to avoid making this an expensive piece of software, so I wouldn't expect it to be a $40 item, even if it might sell at that price point.

Via PalmAddicts.

09:50 AM by Bob Russell in E-Book General | News

We've had a lot of discussions about the evils of DRM and how selling ebooks without DRM may actually increase e-book sales. Some people feel that DRM is good because it provides enough comfort to publishers that we get copyrighted works in e-book form. Others feel that DRM is so limiting that there's never a circumstance when it's worth buying DRM'd content, and even if you do, it's more like a short term rental because as the technology changes, the content can become useless on new platforms.

But we haven't really talked a lot about the publishers' side... if you were a publisher, would you be concerned about piracy if you released your content in non-DRM'd form?

If free copies of non-DRM'd ebooks end up being circulated, and people choose to read the free copies instead of purchasing it, you've basically lost the whole basis of your business. So if you think people will avoid paying money for something they can get for free, you would believe that DRM is completely necessary.

On the other hand, if you provide non-DRM'd e-books to customers at a reasonable price, the market might grow so fast that a small percentage of free copies might be a small price to pay for the explosion of legitimate sales. After all, free pirated versions are already available if you really want them bad enough to locate them. And some people are so anxious to buy non-DRM'd e-books that they will buy a paper book and scan it, or get a pirated copy but buy a DRM'd e-book or a paper book just because they prefer to pay for the book!

So what do you think? Is it in a publisher's best interest to go DRM-free, or would they just be giving away the shop and losing all their profits?

10:50 AM by Bob Russell in E-Book General | Deals and Resources (No...

There is a new online book club at Borders Bookstore these days, which can be found at their book club page. The idea is to actually provide video of people talking about the current book. The first selection is "For One More Day" by Mitch Albums (who also wrote Tuesdays with Morrie).

I've never been a part of any book club, much less an online one, so I don't know whether that makes a lot of sense or not. But one can't help but wonder if they are preparing that with an eye on support and community for the customers who buy a Sony Reader. It would certainly seem to be one way to help boost online sales through the Sony Connect store. And it's hard to imagine that they aren't getting a kickback if they are offering the Sony Reader at their bookstores (or else they would seem to just be giving away book sales to a competitor).

10:35 AM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Intel has mapped out the expected progress for the processor chips for UMPC computers, and for consumers it looks like great news. Power consumption will dramatically improve. That's directly translatable into better battery life. Chip size should help allow better form factors.

Here's what Intel's roadmap is predicting...
2006: 5W power consumption
2007: 2.5W power; 1/4th the size
2008: 0.5W power; 1/10th the size

Elsewhere, I remember hearing that improvements will also make it more practical to include integrated keyboards. Throw in a little better screen resolution and some lower prices and they may become irresistable! They might even give the new generation of e-ink e-book readers a run for their money with those that want backlights, or just don't need a nice paper-like display.

From Anandtech via Origami Portal.

04:06 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Windows Mobile users can rejoice! In the past, one of the nastiest bits of trouble from a Windows Mobile device often came in the form of active sync problems that required various levels of complete reinstalls. The worst thing about them was that the trouble was probably something simple like even a single bad record that could be remedied easily if you just knew about it.

Well, those days are going to be over very soon, because Active Sync 4.2 has a troubleshooter built in. "The troubleshooter analyzes the ActiveSync log files for errors and refers users to the Microsoft website for solutions. To access the troubleshooter, open ActiveSync on your PC and click on Help - Troubleshooter for ActiveSync. In some cases the troubleshooter will open to assist a user with a problem."

It is only compatible with Windows XP or earlier, and you should also check for compatibility with your Windows Mobile device.

From Mobility Site.

08:45 AM by Alexander Turcic in iRex | iRex Developer's Corner

I put off posting about this a) because this tool is still incomplete, and b) iRex promised us to open up the specs of the iRex Delivery Server (iDS) protocol. But as time goes by many of us grow impatient with the company's slow development efforts aimed at making the iLiad reader more usable. So perhaps the best way to convince them how desperately we want to help (through gaining access to the SDK and the flashing process!) is by sharing with you what we've found so far about the iDS protocol.

Web2iDS is a PHP script that uses undocumented XML commands to communicate with the iRex Delivery Server (iDS). Although I wrote the script, all credits should go to TadW who did the main work by finding the XML sequences through connection sniffing and trial and error.

While I am not going to explain the tool sources or XML commands in detail right now (c'mon, it's Sunday, don't you think I've anything better to do?), let me say that you'll find the interesting stuff in iLiadBrowser.php, which contains the class responsible for communicating with the iDS. It's a thin wrapper around the procedural interface to cURL provided by PHP. Obviously for it to work, you must have the cURL extension installed.

Enough said, files are attached to this thread.

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

Is it really Sunday again? Hoorah! Time to dig in to another digest of MobileRead delectables

Accessories
Sony Reader Accessories close-ups

Announcements
This weekend: MobileRead forum restructure

Developer's Corner
Sony Reader GPL sources download link

Future E-Book Devices
Introducing Panasonic's "Word Gear" e-book reader

General Talk
Dubai moves from e-government to m-government
Will Sony ever be Sony again? The Sony Reader might just do it!

Handhelds and Smartphones
Replace your microcassette voice recorder with your Treo!

iRex iLiad
iRex iLiad owner calls for DRM support
iRex needs you to test their iLiad beta software

Mobile Sites
Election results on your mobile handset
ISBNSpy mobile book rating and price lookup
Lots of mobile NY Times sites?

News
E Ink display manufacturer PVI soars thanks to Sony Reader
Japanese joint-venture to start e-book business
The search for the Holy Grail of reading lights continues

Others
Now here is a neat idea: USB CELLs

Sony Portable Reader
Is Sony already out of Readers?
Poll: How many Sony Readers were sold the first day?
Propose an explanation: What's the "Q" on the Sony Reader?!
Sony CONNECT e-book store opened / Link to Reader manuals
Sony Hosts MobileRead (and others) on "Blogger's Day"
Sony Reader available at Sony Webstore
The Sony Reader in our hands: MobileRead visits Sony Electronics
Why the Sony Reader will be successful

10:34 AM by Bob Russell in E-Book General | News

With the present excitement about the new e-ink reading devices comes the question of how to read in the dark. The forums are already full of some great discussions about whether or not the lack of some sort of built in light is a big deal or not. And there are already some thoughts about solutions, like maybe a light wedge side lighting solution or clip on light, which would be even better on an e-ink device than a book, because page turns don't require anything to be moved.

One of the more interesting points made so far has been by romance author da_jane who says that "42 readers of the 60 some who responded on my blog wanted a backlight. We aren't technophiles but we are avid readers. For those who don't know, romance ebooks are currently the most downloaded genre. Look at any ebookstore for the bestsellers. At least half will be romances. Why is that? Because romance readers, on average, buy at least 5 books a month and sometimes up to 20. We primarily read mass market titles and we are used to carry these things around everywhere we go. The need for a backlight or some integrated light source comes from the fact that we often read in lowlight situations. During movies with our kids, in the car (while someone else is driving of course), in bed with our SOs who frequently complain about the light (hence the huge aftermarket business of booklights)."

Personally, the disturb-your-significant-other light bleeding issue isn't currently a problem for me right now, and the lack of a built-in light is not a deal breaker for me.

But a lighting solution would be great. So while starting to do a little hunting for a light that would clip onto my bed's headboard and plug into an A/C outlet, I found someone else that has been doing some hunting. BookOfJoe presents an interesting look at lighting solutions for paper books. He shows some of the interesting solutions he's tried, including a caver's light that is worn on your head. As of this article, he doesn't seem to have come up with the perfect solution yet.

I didn't expect backlighting to be the hot topic about e-ink, but it's shaping up that way. Fortunately, if there some are good lighting solutions out there, somebody is sure to find them and let us know!