01:14 AM by hacker in E-Book General | Deals and Resources (No...

This has been quietly discussed on some ebook lists in the last few days, but I guess I'll stick my neck out and try to expose it, make it public.. or at least find out some more detail about the site to bring some justice to the people who are getting screwed by them.

I'm hoping others here can help me find some detail about the site, because sites like this (if it truly is fraudulent) give all of us a bad name.

This ebook store has some very suspiscious content on it. Look what the following searches bring up:

For Dummys ebooks
Harry Potter ebooks
Stephen King ebooks

..and thousands of others. Their legal page is a bit... suspiscious sounding too. The wording and grammar on the site are very inconsistent, and some of the phrases strike me as warning signs:

There's also no mention of what format your "ebooks" will arrive in after you "become a member". Are they Adobe PDF? eReader? Microsoft .LIT? Their FAQ goes into a brief explanation of a couple common formats, but it doesn't actually say which books are provided in which format. Just more fishy things to add to this pond.

Poke around on the site for a bit and see what I mean. It looks professional, but... it just doesn't "feel" right. I'm beginning to wonder if the site exists solely to phish credit card numbers and account information away from everyone who tries to sign up.

I've emailed quite a few of the publishers and copyright holders of material listed on the site to try to get some answers, but haven't heard anything back from any of them yet.

Anyone else getting a bad vibe about this site?

05:19 PM by Antoine of MMM in E-Book General | News

Wrote this at BargainPDA and I think that it fits some of what has already been said in this section of MR:

http://www.bargainpda.com/default.asp?newsID=2537

I don't know about many people, but when I got my first PDA (back in August of 2000); I decided to run with the paperless lifestyle mantra. And for the most part, it worked quite well. That is, until it came to books. For one reason or another, finding a good book was a lot harder than it should have been. And those prices...well, let's just say that it is better to just write the book yourself sometimes. And me being the avid writer that I am (at least in poetry), I decided that it would be a great idea if I could take my poetry books and then create ebooks out of them and then be able to give them away at my leisure.

04:13 AM by Colin Dunstan in E-Book General | News

Seiko Epson unveiled a flexible 200 ppi e-paper display at the SID 2005. The display, which hasn't been actually displayed but only shown in a presentation, is based on E Ink's electrophoretic paper technology and uses Seiko's advanced display manufacturing and electronic circuitry techniques. Only a month ago Seiko demonstrated a curved wristwatch incorporating the same technology.

Tech-On is quoting Seiko saying that the company "aims to commercialize the technology within 1-2 years" targeting such markets as handheld products.

03:01 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Mozongo has some details (via Pocketpcitalia.com) on the forthcoming smartphone by HTC, which is supposed to be available in early 2006. Preliminary specs:

• Windows Mobile 5.0
• Quad Band GSM/EDGE
• Texas Instruments OMAP 850 CPU
• 128MB ROM, 64MB RAM
• 2.8" QVGA display
• Bluetooth / WiFi
• 2.1 MP camera w/ LED Flash
• Slide out QWERTY keyboard
• Mini SD slot

02:47 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Hong Kong-based Kasuei Consultant Group released an update to its free hotspot finder Hitchhiker. Version 0.2 includes various improvements, including support for WEP and WPA-PSK, "Fire-and-forget" feature (keep trying all possible networks), quick launch toolbox for built-in network tools, audible note when connection established, connection prioritization based on score.

02:31 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

The WSJ is reporting this morning that GoodLink, an alternative push e-mail service offered to corporate phone users by Cingular, poses serious challenges to Blackberry-maker RIM. Unlike RIM's solution GoodLink is not device-dependent; Cingular will begin to offer the software and service on the PalmOne Treo 650 and the Siemens SX66, and other models may follow. However, taking on BlackBerry will be no easy matter:

RIM, which was founded in 1984, has a huge lead in wireless email, enabling it to brush off upstarts that have arisen in recent years. More than 42,000 organizations have a BlackBerry email server, and 2.5 million people use the hand-held device.

Still, some analysts see holes in the BlackBerry approach, namely that its technology operates by and large on its own devices. The company has made a concerted push recently to license its technology and make it workable on other devices and operating systems, with the idea of expanding and diversifying its sources of revenue.

But those efforts have yet to produce the desired results. The company's plans to put BlackBerry technology on a Motorola Inc. phone, for example, have apparently stalled.

02:08 AM by Alexander Turcic in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Chris De Herrera posted a step-by-step guide how to install Microsoft's software emulator that runs on Windows desktop machines of its forthcoming Windows Mobile release. Before you scratch your head looking for the missing download link, you should visit this post at Ipaq HQ where a user explains all required steps in further detail.

04:16 AM by Colin Dunstan in Archive | Handhelds and Smartphones

Thanks to Kent from PocketFactory for pointing out this great deal: For a limited time, Dell is offering its Axim X50v handheld with an instant 20% discount (down to USD $399) including free shipping. The offer ends April June 1.

Other current PDA discounts:

• Axim "Deal of the Week" specially configured handheld (E-value code: X50624_HD2): 25% off
• Axim "Deal of the Week" specially configured handheld (E-value code: X50520_HD2): 20% off
• Axim "Deal of the Week" specially configured handheld (E-value code: X30624_HD1): 20% off
• Axim X50 and X30 624MHz Handhelds: 15% Off Instantly