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

Have something interesting to say about mobile computing or reading? Join our forums and share your view on topics like the ones discussed at MobileRead this past week...

Announcements
Back from Hawaii

Current E-Books Trends
E-paper roundup from Japan
Slashdot on the e-book and its slow acceptance
Tor joins Baen for more e-SciFi

E-Book Readers
More images of the iRex iLiad e-book reader

E-Book Webstores
eReader 10% discount through March 15th

eReader
eReader 2.63 for Windows Mobile released

General Chat
Yadadisk Portable Open Source Encryption

Link Swap
1GB SD Card for $19.99 after rebate
iPod mini refurbed for $150 at Apple Store
Science book longlist announced

Other E-Book Resources
PDA247 to host group read of "The Daughters of Freya"

Other Gadgets
Intel shows UMPC/Origami preview
New Zaurus SL-C3200 - and it looks a bit disappointing
Nintendo DS can control your PC remotely
Origami photo leaked
Settlement ends Blackberry case
So what's new about Origami/UMPC?

Other Readers
Rollup e-book readers to ship summer 2006

Palm
Palm PDF viewers roundup
Track flights from your web-enabled Palm
Treo 700p in May/June from Sprint
Turn mp3 files into custom Treo 650 ringtones

01:26 PM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book Software | Reading and Management

Motricity has released an update of the eReader e-book reading software, adding official support for Windows Mobile 5.0-based devices. Version 2.6.3 also adds a couple of bugfixes since V2.6.1.

You can download the trial of eReader from here. For the first 15 days you'll have free access to the Pro features; after that you either need to purchase a registration or continue using a crippled version.

01:04 PM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | Deals and Resources (No...

The guys from Palm Addicts stumbled over this new discount from eReader: Punch in this week's Promo Code 03DYN08 to receive a 10% discount off any eligible book that you purchase at eReader.com. Offer good through March 15, 2006 on all books priced more than $3.00.

12:19 PM by doctorow in Miscellaneous | Lounge

Well, I always thought the iPod mini to be cooler than the nano, especially because I loathe scratches! Apple currently has refurbished 1st and 2nd generation 4GB iPod minis in store, which sell for $149 and $159, respectively.

First found at iLounge.

04:36 PM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | News

Few of us dispute the potential benefits of e-books. But why hasn't acceptance been swifter? A Slashdot reader raises a number of interesting points which may (at least partly) serve as an explanation:

1. Form factor: They just prefer the feel and 'interface' of a paper book.
   Forthcoming readers such as the iRex iLiad and the Sony Reader will resemble paper books more than anything we've seen before, thanks to E Ink technology.

2. Lack of a compelling device (or perhaps lack of convergence): They don't own a reader (other than a PC or notebook) and can't take them with them.
   Mobile gear is becoming increasingly powerful and popular, replacing the need for a dedicated e-book reader device.

3. Lack of content: Books they are interested in aren't available in electronic format
   This could certainly be true for specialized literature. However, the mainstream "Dan Brown" literature is commonly available through Amazon, eReader and other bookstores that provide e-books.

4. Distribution model: They don't like the DRM scheme their favorite publisher offers, or are otherwise unhappy with current offerings.
   In my eyes still the major obstacle for allowing e-books to flourish. Proprietary DRM is inconvenient, restrictive and (often) invasive. It's hard to justify how an e-book with DRM should make a better reading experience than the good old paper book.

03:05 PM by CCDMan in E-Book General | News

More good news for SF e-book fans, plus a humorous quote. Tor Books is going to start publishing ebooks through Webscriptions right along with Baen. There is a quote from Tor's senior editor, Patrick Nielsen Hayden, about why they came to this decision:

"We've tested a lot of e-book waters, including various cockamamie schemes involving overpriced e-books laden with DRM.

Oddly enough, a lot of those "books" didn't even sell enough copies to pay for their file-conversion costs. Meanwhile, it hasn't escaped our notice that Jim Baen has been doing something that works, that people like, and that makes money. I'm delighted to be doing this pilot program; I think Jim has been clueful on this issue for a long time, while almost everyone else in publishing has been staggering around on stage hitting one another over the head with inflated pig bladders."

Indeed.

01:36 PM by Alexander Turcic in E-Book General | Deals and Resources (No...

The idea is intriguing: A group of people simultaneously read the mystery novel "The Daughters of Freya", all the while the story is unfold through emails exchanged between the main protagonist and the other characters. But instead of reading these emails in a book, they'll be delivered straight to your inbox, just as if the characters have copied you on the emails they are sending to each other. At the same time, you can discuss and speculate about the story in PDA247's online forum.

For more information on how to sign up and on the actual story of "The Daughters of Freya", check out this PDA247 post.

01:09 PM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Palm Addicts has a nice roundup of available PDF viewers for Palm OS. Those readers include: Adobe Reader, Metaview, Repligo, and Documents To Go.

Personally I try to convert any PDF document on a PC desktop first (using Adobe Acrobat) - preferably into HTML - and then to use one of the various offline HTML readers (e.g. iSilo or Plucker/Sunrise) to make the document available on my PDA.