05:07 PM by Brian in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Mike Wendland, a technology writer for the Detroit Free Press recently covered a surprise visit by Bill Gates to the University of Michigan. Wendland, a Tablet PC user, had a chance to speak with Bill about the future of the Tablet PC, which has been rather slow to take off, and here's what Gates said:

"Most people still don't think the tablet will pay off, but I'm staking my reputation on it in a very big way."

In another article posted today, Wendland talks more about the Tablet PC platform, which he's pretty bullish about when you consider the title of his article: Microsoft has a winner with Tablet PC operating system.

Is the Tablet PC a winner, or will it remain a niche product? Will Apple make a Mac tablet that appeals to mass markets when the time is right, accomplishing something that Microsoft and its OEMs have struggled with? Does a tablet device make a good e-book, e-newspaper and e-magazine reading device? Please add your thoughts to the discussion thread.

[via jkontherun]

04:26 PM by Bob Russell in Miscellaneous | Announcements

Our apologies to all of our unregistered MobileRead visitors who enjoy participating in our discussions in the general chat forum. For the time being, we have been forced to disable posting unless you are registered because we are being overrun by spam. One bad apple can cause all of us some slight inconveniences. We ask you to understand that this was not our desire, but it was forced upon us, at least for the moment. In the meantime, please consider registering and participating in the discussions! It just takes a moment, and is very simple and non-intrusive. Thank you for your patience!

04:02 PM by Bob Russell in Archive | Portable Audio/Video

For years I wondered when there would finally be a Walkman CD player that could play CDs loaded up with MP3 files. Now I'm wondering when we'll see a DVD player that plays DVDs loaded up with DIVX movies and oodles of MP3s.

Until that day comes we're forced to use our pdas or various portable media players... or now, if we are satisfied with playing DVDs, we can have our own portable DVD player from Axion. Looks like you can even play video games on it with a SEGA game pad!

Features
* Hi-Res 4.2" Widescreen LCD screen
* Top-loading DVD/CD/MP3 player
* Built-in Axi-Port for connecting to TV tuner or SEGA(TM) game pad.
* Stereo A/V output jack for external TV monitor
* Built-in stereo speakers
* AC/DC (Car Cord) adapters included
* Kickstand for easy desktop use
* Two stereo Hi-Fi headphone jacks

Specs
Built-in 7.4V polymer Li-ion battery
Dimensions: 5.51x5.51x1.02" (14.0x14.0x2.6cm) (HWD)

Very impressive. I couldn't find it at the online store, but it's supposed to go for $140. The optional TV tuner is only about $40.

(Via Gizmodo, an excellent site.)

02:09 PM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | iSilo/X

New beta versions of iSilo and iSiloX are available with the following highlights:

iSilo 4.29 beta 2:

• Added content read caching for all platforms except for Palm OS platform, which already had it. Improves slow reading of large documents on Symbian OS platforms.
• Addressing of miscellaneous issues.

iSiloX 4.29 beta2:

• Added recognition of application/xhtml+xml and .xhtml/.xhtm as HTML extensions.
• Addressing of miscellaneous issues.

If you are new to iSilo make sure to visit this thread for more information.

11:59 AM by Colin Dunstan in E-Book Software | Reading and Management

One thing's for sure: Reading PDF documents on a handheld isn't something for the faint-hearted. If you haven't given up yet or tried to convert your PDF into a more usable format, you may find your luck with Henk "MetaView" Jonas' PalmPDF, which works on any Palm OS 5.x device and promises native PDF reading support. The current version (0.1) seems to be very picky with available main memory, so make sure you have a lot of it before start the app.

After you downloaded the zip, copy PalmPDF.prc into your main memory, the folder PalmPDF to your card into "/PALM/Programs/" and all PDF documents into "/PALM/Programs/PalmPDF".

[via Tam's Palm OS Blog]

11:08 AM by Colin Dunstan in E-Book General | News

According to Smart Bitches, Toronto-based Harlequin is offering book authors who agreed to be published in e-book format a lousy six percent in royalties. Harlequin is one of the biggest publishers of series romance and women's fiction and has recently announced the launch of its e-book program in partnership with Lightning Source, eReader.com and OverDrive.

A little bird told me that Harlequin is now offering 6% royalties on e-Books. Apparently, this is non-negotiable. The typical royalty rate for other e-publishers? 30-50%. Now, I’m wondering: why the discrepancy? Also: is the royalty rate for books that are offered both in paper and e-book format, or is it the rate for books that are going to be offered primarily as e-books, a la Ellora’s Cave? If the former, 6% would be pretty typical for paperback books, but if the latter--well, that’s pretty Scrooge-a-riffic.

In other words, Harlequin and other publishers don't want to sell e-books at reduced rates, all the while they keep the addititional revenues for producing at considerably lower costs to themselves. Why doesn't it surprise me that e-books fail to take off?

[via Tobias S. Buckell]

09:30 AM by Brian in E-Book General | News

There have been a lot of articles in the mainstream media recently about how the newspaper and magazine industries are suffering from declining subscription rates and circulation as people read more content online. These industries must adapt and embrace digital content or they'll suffer the consequences. If you are interested in reading more about the future of traditional print media like newspapers and magazines, and how new devices and services utilizing E Ink technology could be their saviors, here are two recent articles for your reading pleasure that I highly recommend.

Newspapers: The Future by Frank Ahrens at the Washingtonpost.com

A future written in electronic ink? by Ben Vershbow at if:book

In Frank Ahrens' article, he talks about a scene from the futuristic movie Minority Report, and how a concept device shown in the scene could be a preview of devices to come:

In the scene we're interested in, a Metro passenger is reading a USA Today. It LOOKS like a USA Today in that it's a full-page newspaper (called a "broadsheet") but instead of a handful of papers, it's a paper-thin video screen, thin enough to fold up and put under your arm. Instead of static photos and text, it's constantly changing text, video and perhaps sound. Think of it as a combination paper, television and Internet, presumably wirelessly connected to a futuristic Wi-Fi, perhaps the next generation of the new Wi-Max super hotspots that are rolling out and cover several square miles instead of several square feet.

Is such a device in our near future? Will technologies like e-ink, RSS feeds, Wi-Max, and streaming media make newspapers of the future that bear little resemblance to current formats?

Related: Newspapers feeling the heat in the digital age, E Ink goes color with new advanced electronic paper

08:56 AM by Brian in E-Book General | News

E Ink have unveiled a prototype color electronic paper display at the FPD International trade show in Japan. Made in conjunction with the Toppan Printing Company Ltd., the world's leading supplier of color filters for the flat panel display industry, the prototype 6 inch 400x300 12-bit color display with a resolution of 83 pixels per inch offers excellent readability in direct sunlight, making it suitable for use in a variety of devices including digital cameras, ATMs, kiosks, and GPS units. From the press release:

"No one has ever shown a low-power color display that looks this good and can be mass manufactured in a practical way," said Russ Wilcox, CEO at E Ink, "The gates are finally open for product designers to use color electronic paper in mobile devices."

"Supporting a graphical user interface is critical for mobile devices," said Ryosuke Kuwada, VP of Sales and Marketing at E Ink, "Unlike printed paper, our display can be updated in a fraction of a second, enabling menus, scroll bars and animation. The screen can easily switch between black and white text or color windows and icons."

Mass production of the new color display is expected to start in late 2006 with flexible versions planned for the future.

Related: More e-paper promises..., E-books could be more than just type

[Press Release via Yahoo! Librie Group and TeleRead]