Delivering on its promise to give consumers a variety of choices, Sony announced the third member of its new Reader family - the Reader Daily Edition, a highly-anticipated wireless model with 3G connectivity.  The Daily Edition caps its new line of Reader products, joining the Reader Pocket Edition and the Reader Touch Edition which were announced earlier this month.

The Reader Pocket Edition and the Reader Touch Edition are available immediately, and the Reader Daily Edition will be available this December in time for the holidays at SonyStyle stores and SonyStyle.com.

The Reader Daily Edition gives consumers wireless access via AT&T’s 3G mobile broadband network to Sony’s eBook store from just about anywhere in the U.S.  Book lovers will be able to browse, purchase and download books as well as select newspapers and magazines when and where they want. There are no monthly fees or transaction charges for the basic wireless connectivity and users still have the option to side load personal documents or content from other compatible sites via USB.

Sony is delivering on its promise of making digital readers and eBooks accessible and affordable for consumers with the introduction of two new Readers.  Part of a new Reader line, the Reader Pocket Edition rolls in at only $199. Both the Reader Pocket Edition and the Reader Touch Edition will be available at the end of August, at SonyStyle.com, SonyStyle stores and select retail partners. Also, new releases and New York Times bestseller titles in the eBook Store from Sony will now be available for $9.99.

The Reader Pocket Edition sports a five-inch electronic paper display packaged in a stylish chassis and is available in a variety of colors, including navy blue, rose and silver. The Reader Pocket Edition fits into a purse or jacket pocket. The device can store about 350 standard eBooks and provides up to two weeks on a single battery charge.

The Reader Touch Edition features a menu-driven six-inch touch screen panel that enables navigation, page turning, highlighting and note taking with the swipe of a finger or by using the included stylus pen. Users can take handwritten notes with the stylus pen or type with the virtual keyboard. All notes can be exported and printed out for easy reference. The Reader Touch Edition includes an onboard Oxford American English Dictionary that allows you to look up a word by simply tapping on it. The Touch Edition also offers five adjustable font sizes, as well as expansion slots for both Memory Stick PRO Duo and SD card. It comes in red, black or silver and will retail for about $299.

Quote:

Onyx has product listings on Alibaba. They have 10 different case designs ready to manufacture. They range from nice but bland to a couple very pretty ones.

I also just got an email from Onyx telling me that we had incorrect information yesterday. The default CPU speed is 532MHz, and the BOOX does support EPUB. (I don’t know about you, but this makes the device even more tempting.) There is also a Youtube video.

You gotta see the video. It shows how to use the touch screen to use the menu, write and erase notes, and swipe to turn the page. It also shows the web browser.

Join the discussion over at MobileRead: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t=40424

While at ShowStoppers during CES 2009 I was able to spend some time with a Plastic Logic e-reader prototype. What an amazing product for an early prototype, it felt and operated like a product ready to ship and use. I was told early samples will trickle out in mid to late 2009 with shipping units in early 2010.

The screen contrast seemed to be on par with my Sony 505, however I did not have it on hand to compare side by side. The page response was quick as you can tell from the video I took.  The device looks like it will support many if not most formats including DRM material when it ships. I did not discover what DRM formats are planned.

Their e-reader interface runs on top of a version of Microsoft WinCE, measures a thin 7mm weighing in at less than 16 oz, with a form factor of 8.5” x 11”. Basically it is the size of a typical magazine.  The touch screen was also quick and responsive and featured a soft keyboard.

I am enthusiastically waiting to make one of these units my new daily e-reader.

http://www.plasticlogic.com/

More pics and videos after the break!

On Thursday, Sony will provide a software update to the Reader, a thin slab with a 6-inch screen, so the device can display books encoded in a format being adopted by several large publishers. That means Reader owners will be able to buy electronic books from stores other than Sony’s.

The International Digital Publishing Forum’s epub e-book standard received a big vote of support this morning when Sony announced that effective immediately its Sony Reader will now support the standard. Beginning in August, all new devices shipped will use epub, and right now owners of existing devices can go to http://esupport.sony.com to update their device’s software for epub support.

Publishers supporting Epub include Simon & Schuster, Penguin Group, HarperMedia, Hachette Book Group, HarperMedia and Harlequin Enterprises Ltd.

[Via Engadget]

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6581363.html
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20080724/ap_on_hi_te/tec_sony_reader

Esquire, one of America’s iconic magazines, is turning 75 this year. As part of the celebration of this milestone, the October issue will be the first magazine ever to embed a revolutionary digital technology - electronic paper - into a mass-produced print product.

In partnership with the all-new Ford Flex Crossover and in collaboration with E Ink Corporation, the world’s leading supplier of electronic paper display (EPD) technologies, Esquire’s groundbreaking cover will make a profound statement about how the print medium can expand its capabilities while continuing to exploit its own unique strengths. Ford will prominently feature its highly-anticipated Ford Flex on the inside cover, utilizing the same E Ink Vizplex flexible display technology, in a double-page advertisement.

Esquire will distribute 100,000 issues with the special cover on newsstands. They will be available at Borders, Barnes & Noble and select newsstand vendors.

http://media.ford.com/newsroom/release_display.cfm?release=28680
Via…MobileRead
image credit: NY Times

Looking for some information? The best place to visit is, of course, the library! It is the books and magazines in the library that have the data. We all have borrowed books from the library at some point in time or the other. Over the years, life has changed and so has the way we store and carry data - in electronic files. However, it is unfortunate that most libraries have not kept pace with the changes. They still have a photocopier machine for general use instead of a scanner. Now, does a photocopier really provide the library goers any convenience or does it make things somewhat easier for the library? Perhaps, it’s neither.

Ok, so this bad boy pops out 3.2 pages a second and has a stand that elevates the scanner by 122mm with an 18.8 degree angle thereby generating the best scan result even when you are scanning a book with hard and bulky cover.

The 4600 comes with ImageFolio 4.5 supporting complete image-tuning functions, support for TIF, PCX, BMP, TGA, JPG, PCD, WMF, and PNG file format. Also PageManager 7.10 with instant PDF creation or conversion to Word (maintaining color and images.) 

Product Page…

Amazon.com today introduced Amazon Kindle, a revolutionary portable reader that wirelessly downloads books, blogs, magazines and newspapers to a crisp, high-resolution electronic paper display that looks and reads like real paper, even in bright sunlight. More than 90,000 books are now available in the Kindle Store, including 101 of 112 current New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases, which are $9.99, unless marked otherwise. Kindle is available starting today for $399 at http://amazon.com/kindle

The Kindle wireless delivery system, Amazon Whispernet, uses the same nationwide high-speed data network (EVDO) as advanced cell phones. Kindle customers can wirelessly shop the Kindle Store, download or receive new content—all without a PC, Wi-Fi hot spot, or syncing. Amazon pays for the wireless connectivity for Kindle so there are no monthly wireless bills, data plans, or service commitments for customers.

Technical Details

Display: 6” diagonal E-Ink electronic paper display, 600 x 800 pixel resolution at 167 ppi, 4-level gray scale
Size (in inches): 7.5” x 5.3” x 0.7”
Weight: 10.3 ounces
System requirements:  None, because it doesn’t require a computer
Storage: 256MB internal (approximately 185MB available for user content); available SD memory card slot supports up to 4GB SD memory cards (SD memory card not included)
Battery Life: Leave wireless on and recharge every other day. Turn wireless off and read for a week or more before recharging. Battery life will vary based on wireless usage, such as shopping the Kindle Store and downloading content. In low coverage areas or in 1xRTT only coverage, wireless usage will consume battery power more quickly. 
Charge Time: Approximately 2 hours
Connectivity: EVDO modem with fallback to 1xRTT; utilizes Amazon Whispernet to provide U.S wireless coverage via Sprint’s high-speed data network (Check Wireless Coverage)
USB Port:  USB 2.0 (mini-B connector) to optionally connect to a PC or Macintosh computer
Audio: 3.5mm stereo audio jack, rear-mounted mono speaker
Content Formats Supported:  Kindle (AZW), TXT, Audible (formats 2, 3 and 4), MP3, natively; HTML, DOC, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP, MOBI, PRC through conversion
Included Accessories: Power adapter, USB 2.0 cable, book cover, rechargeable battery
Documentation: About Your Kindle Manual; Kindle User’s Guide pre-installed on device
Warranty and Service: 1 year limited warranty and service

http://www.amazon.com/Kindle-Amazons-Wireless-Reading-Device/dp/B000FI73MA/ref=kd_ln?ie=UTF8

With professors uploading their daily lectures as podcasts, universities issuing free devices to freshmen, have iPod’s have evolved from the educator’s enemy to one of the strongest tools in modern academia? Organizations like iPREPpress would like to think so.

With students carrying these devices to and from class, it makes sense to use them as educational tools. Dozens of universities are embracing professor podcasts and Stanford is even using iTunes to take lectures globally.

”iPREPpress was founded with the purpose of converting existing educational materials to iPod format. Students can visit the site and download SparkNotes, study charts, dictionaries, encyclopedias and other beneficial resources. They expect to have over 30 publishers on board by December 2006.”

Looks like a great idea and will no doubt entrench Apple even deeper into areas other than pop culture. Too bad iPREPpress only offers this for the iPod and not PlaysForSure devices.

Beginning Sunday, March 12, PDA24/7 is hosting a unique “Group Read” of The Daughters of Freya, the serialized online mystery novel they have written about on a few occasions in the past. The idea is to have a group of people read the mystery at the same time, and discuss it in an online forum as it unfolds.

The story - about a journalist investigating a cult in California - unfolds through e-mail messages deposited in your inbox a few times a day over the course of three weeks. It’s a new way to use the Internet as a storytelling tool, and the mystery has been getting a great response from readers readers and reviewers alike. (You can read the synopsis here.)

From their website:

I read it on my PDA and Treo (twice). It’s well-written with lots of suspense, and we thought it would be fun to offer you the opportunity to experience the story collectively, in real-time. The Group Read will begin at 9:30 p.m. (EST) on March 12, when the first installment of the mystery will be emailed to readers. A forum will be set up on our website where you’ll be able to discuss the mystery while it happens.

The authors have been kind enough to extend a special price of US$2.99 (regular $4.99) for those who wish to take part. If you’d like to participate, you can sign up here any time prior to the start date. http://www.clieuk.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?p=21656

Hmmm…interactive book reading on the PDA. Could be cool when combined with a chat client. Thanks Michael Betcherman for the news tip.

Instead of doing the normal review, we?re going to embark on something different.

Cisco Press (http://www.ciscopress.com) was kind enough to send us a few of their latest books to peruse, and this is the first one that jumped at me out of the stack.

The Case for Virtual Business Processes. It seemed right at first to be something you wouldn?t initially expect from a technical vendor. In fact, the book is written by Martha Young, President/Founder of Nova Amber, LLC, a virtualized business, and Michael Jude, Ph.D., with only the forward being written by someone at Cisco, in this case Kevin MacRitchie, the VP of World Channel Operations.