Now an Ectaco jetBook Color 9.7″ tablet may change the landscape for e-ink readers.

Geek.com and other blogs report very interesting features of this tablet coming to US in January 2012.

The unit is based on the Hanvon C920, which utilizes a 1600 x 1200 Triton color E Ink display that’s capable of interpreting two-finger touch gestures. Wi-Fi support is built in, and there’s a stylus onboard for those who want to take advantage of the jetBook’s handwriting recognition abilities to leave notes in the digital margins of their books.

The jetBook can handle loads of different file formats, including EPUB, PDF, MOBI, DOC, XLS, and HTML — JPG and PNG photos are also supported, as are MP3, WAV, and WMA audio files. Opera’s web browser is included, as is a text-to-speech engine, and there’s a microSD expansion to hold your ever-expanding library.

A pre-order page at Ectaco presents detailed specs of the device:

• Triton Color E Ink screen
• 9.7″ Display
• 1600×1200 resolution
• Load Your Own Content
• Support for: Adobe DRM 9.1, ePub, Mobi, PRC, RTF, TXT, PDF, FB2, djvu, JPG, Gif, PNG, BMP (more to come)
• Wi-Fi enabled with browser
• Fluent Text-to-Speech can read you any book
• 10,000 page turns on a single charge
• Support via microSD for up to 32GB
• Sleek protective carrying case included
• Underline and highlight text
• 50-state reading list
• Fully interactive SAT course
• “Overdrive” library access
• Wireless access to online textbooks, www.ck12.org and other resources
• Speed Reading course
• Talking Oxford Dictionaries
• Course of English and foreign language grammar
• Speech recognition and speech analysis Language Teacher and U-Learn courses that teach you a language step by step
• Pictured dictionaries for 38 languages
• Cross translator for 180 languages
• Vocabulary Builder
• Linguistic Crosswords
• Reference materials for Math, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography and Earth Science
• Interactive Periodic Table of Elements
• Graphing and scientific calculators

The post Ectaco jetBook Color E-Ink Reader gets to US in January appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

First, it’s an inclusion of “night-reading” mode (white type on black background) available on Kindle for iOS from the start. If anything, readability of -e-books in this mode is questionable, at least, but it’s good to have an option anyway.

Another update introduces a better possibility for full screen, no page margins text layout. This feature is quite important for customers who used to read their e-books from smallish iPhone screen. Though here again a “legacy” feature of traditional books called page margins, or borders keeps its stake as a more convenient option with better readability for iPad with its more or less normal book size.

Athelas, Charter, Iowan, and Seravek are the new and very fine fonts added to iBooks in this update as well.

Here is a sample of one of the new texts, Seravek:

Traditional font repertoire for iOS was always excellent, but adding more beautiful, finely tuned fonts will appeal even more to many aesthetically-minded readers. Still LCD screens, even sporting high resolutions, are not the best displays to attract a reader that can devour more than couple dozen pages at a time.

There’s more upgraded and added features for public domain faux covers renditions, then there’s a redesigned annotation palette as well. Free e-books on the iBooks shelves, look more expensive now, with the textured covers and whatnot. Upgrade 1.5 to iBooks has also added pop-up footnotes.

All in all, the iBooks upgrade 1.5 brings reading on i-devices closer to the experience gained from major Android -e-readers such as Aldiko, Cool Reader, FBReader and a dozen more capable of understanding up to 20 e-book formats and offering many services required by avid book worms. Then, the Amazon Kindle’s functionality for specific uses of instructional “digital” materials  such as textbooks, workbooks, manuals, etc., is still not in line with the iBooks capabilities catering mostly a casual reader.

The lower hook on small “l” in Seravek is a great feature anyway.

The post iBooks Gets A Face-Lifting Update appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

The Barnes & Noble eBookstore works in much the same way as the Kindle Store from Amazon. Independent authors can go ahead and publish their book through these marketplaces, making a little money when each copy is sold. However, it seems that a good number of people are going ahead and making money from out-of-copyright works, selling them at a price that is naturally higher than zero.

AkilahR brought this up in the B&N forums, finding that someone was selling the fairy tales from the Brothers Grimm, for example. These books can be freely downloaded at Gutenburg.org. I can’t remember for certain, but I think I remember seeing a similar phenomenon going on in the larger Amazon Kindle marketplace too.

While AkilahR says that he already knows “where to get free out of copyright books,” I don’t think that’s true of the general population. These “scammers” are capitalizing on an opportunity and, as far as I can tell, it’s completely legal to do so. What do you think?

[B&N]

The post Barnes & Noble letting users sell free books on the Nook? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Acer LumiRead e-Ink eReader with QWERTY Keyboard

The rising sun marks the end of night just as the birth of digital brings forth the death of paper. Well maybe not quite so dramatic, but eBooks are definitely changing the way we read. With more and more companies jumping on board the cost of eBook readers have been steadily decreasing, and now there is another company on the eBook wagon; Acer, with its new LumiRead to go on sale towards the end of 2010.

eBook readers have been produced since the 1990’s, the first models utilizing LCD screens, much like PDA’s or handheld game machines. Later in 2000’s Sony became the first company to utilize electronic ink; a method of displaying type that is easier on the eyes and very similar to that of traditional paper. After Sony, Amazon came out with the Kindle in 2007. Now a multitude of companies are producing readers, ranging from Dell to Samsung.

So what about Acer’s LumiRead?

The LumiRead uses a pretty standard 6 inch screen, about the size of a paperback’s page. It boasts WiiFi and will possibly utilize 3G technology in future models; allowing users to download titles or surf the net while they are on the go. Unlike the Sony eBook reader but similar to Amazon’s kindle the LumiRead will also have a QWERTY keyboard allowing readers to become authors or (much more likely) simply allowing readers to write emails. It will also have 2 gigabytes of built in memory giving the reader the option of storing 100o’s of titles, pictures and songs.

So why eBook?

That’s a good question. Online there are tens of thousands of free titles ready for download, but most free works with mass literary value are usually classics no longer protected under copyright laws (unless you use less legal methods). As for purchasing eBook titles, their costs are usually very similar to buying the actual print book itself.

The main advantage to eBook readers such as the LumiRead seems to be convenience and the love for all gadgets new and cool burning in our soul. And when the technology becomes more widespread, its affordability will increase to the point where even the most frugal electronics lover will be willing to buy one.

Acer LumiRead e-Ink eReader with QWERTY Keyboard

The post Acer’s LumiRead enters e-Reader race appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Kobo eReader

It seems that new ebook device releases are not going to slow down anytime soon,  Wired is arguing that the Apple iPad will not be a Kindle killer. It’s in a different segment altogether. Instead, they’re saying that Jeff Bezos and the Amazon crew should be fearful of the Kobo eReader.

As a quick refresher, Kobo is a global eBook retailer with support from Chapters/Indigo, Borders, REDGroup Retail, and Cheung Kong Holidings. It already supports the major ebook readers (and smartphones) on the market, but it seems that Kobo wants some hardware of its own.

What you see here is the Kobo eReader and, from what we can tell, it’s going to be sold for a mere $150. That’s pretty darn cheap, considering that sure looks a lot like the more expensive Kindle. It has a similar e-ink display, plain white chassis, and long battery life.

There are some shortcomings at that price, of course. The $150 Kobo eReader does not have a 3G connection, for instance, relying instead on SD, USB or Bluetooth to get its content. There is only 1GB of storage, but you can expand with an SD card. For controls, you get that big blue directional pad on the front, but the rest of the buttons are tucked away on the left edge.

The Kobo eReader is cheap and effective, but I think the lack of 3G or atleast Wi-Fi could hurt its sales. The direct delivery model of the Amazon Kindle just seems so much more appealing.

The post Should Kindle be afraid of the $150 Kobo eReader? appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Samsung eReader

Samsung Electronics of America today unveiled their eReader tablet computer for the US market. With a name far less revolutionary than others, Samsung’s eReader should still give the Kindle a run for its money.

The compact portable Samsung eReader sports a 6-inch e-Ink display capable of 600×800 resolution with 8-gray scale shades.  This is a more traditional eBook screen primarly to be used for newspapers, paper back novels, and simple image viewing, unlike Apple’s iPad offering more colorful, rich-media  interaction for the end user.

Samsung has also partnered with Barnes & Noble for eBook and ePeriodical distribution, most bestsellers will run you $9.99 and can be purchased over your wireless internet connection.

Samsung is the maker of Apple’s A4 processor, but we’re unsure which processor they have decided go with,  we can assume it’s going to have some power behind it as the eReader goes beyond displaying grayscale images and PDF files, as it has an electromagnetic resonance (EMR) stylus pen. The EMR stylus gives users writing capab.ilities that are “typically associated only with traditional paper books, such as making annotations in the margins and recording one’s own thoughts and interpretations while reading.”  Direct handwriting and memos with note taking on what you are reading is very convenient with EMR.

Voice recording is another great feature, the eReader allows for voice memos and annotations.  Applications embedded in the eReader include a journal, scheduler, MP3 player for audio books, music and podcasts, which can be played through the front speakers or a headphone port, and even support for Bluetooth 2.0 wireless headsets on top of 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi.

Off the shelf the eReader comes with 2GB of internal memory, Samsung says that is enough to store 1,500 ebooks or 24,000 pages of memos with support e-pub, PDF/a, TXT, bmp and jpg formats.  External memory can accept up to 16GB of Micro SD cards.  The best part about it, Samsung’s text-to-speech (TTS) technology, this will read out text for you to enjoy your content in any situation where your eyes must be focused on something else, ultimately turning any eBook into an audiobook.

No ship date or price has been released yet.

Samsung eReader

The post Samsung eReader with text-to-speech technology unveiled appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

It’s official, the Apple iPad is out of the dark and now in our hearts? or not. Was it worth the wait? Basically a modified iPhone with a large display that you can watch Youtube, high-def movies and tv shows on a 9.7-inch IPS display with full capacitive multi-touch. Apps will be available on hybrid iTunes similar to the iPhones but not exactly.

The iPad is also environmentally friendly, being Arsenic-free, BFR-free, Mercury-free, PVC-free system and Highly Recyclable.

It will have WiFi, Bluetooth 2.1+EDR and 16GB to 64GB flash storage with a 1GHz Apple A4 Chip and 10 hours of battery life.

You can flick through photos and emails just as you would on an iPhone, it has built-inc calendar, datebook and syncs with OSX calendar. There’s a keyboard on the giant screen which makes it almost life size.

The iPad has a built-in accelerometer of course, it turns as you turn it so you can see an entire web page, apparently it is “the best browsing experience you’ve ever had.”

Apple will highlight apps that are created explicitly for the iPad in the iPad store as well. You can get iPhone apps, of course, but they will highlight the special ones.

Apple.com today will have a new SDK that includes an iPad simulator to run the iPad apps on the Mac. “We’ve enhanced the iPhone SDK to support development for the iPad as well, and we’re releasing the SDK today.”

iBooks are out.  The much anticipated eBook reader app for the iPad will have a bookshelf style display letting you look at the side of the book when it’s on a shelf.  Looking down at a book while reading and looking at what appears to be paper, rather than a blank white canvas like a website will give it some more realism.    The iBook store will be populated initially by Penguin, Harper Collins, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, Hachette book group.

Apple will be shipping iPads in 60 days, worldwide availability of Wi-Fi models. 90 days for the 3G models. The prices are as follows:

• 16GB with WiFi $499, 3G + WiFi $629
• 32GB with WiFi $599, 3G + WiFi $729
• 64GB with WiFi $699, 3G + WiFi $829

Accessories for the iPad will include an official Apple keyboard dock for easier typing, and a case/kickstand made from leather, and doubles as both a case and stand, optimizing viewing and keeping the display protected.

The keyboard is the same as the normal Apple keyboard just with a stand attached to the back to make your iPad stand up straight.

If you end up with a 3G iPad, then data plans will be offered through AT&T, a $30 per month with no contract one can get you padding, plus you can cancel any time with no penalty. It also includes use of the vastly dispersed AT&T Wi-Fi hotspots.

Stay tuned for the official release or check the live blogging going on at Gizmodo.

The post Official: Apple iPad is the new Apple tablet appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

Our friends over at Gizmodo have launched a sweepstakes to give away an Apple Tablet, or whatever it may be called, once it is released. The contest is really simple, you just have to be a bit psychic.

What will the features be of the new Apple device? What OS will it have? What name will it be under? How much memory? What type of screen size? The one who guesses closest to what it really ends up being will be the winner. The Apple tablet may be announced on Wednesday the 27th, so you better head on over and enter now.

The post Guess the specs, win an Apple Tablet, or iPad appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

It’s just one screen with multiple modes -  a bright full color LCD, reflective E-Ink black and white quality, and transflective LCD mode. That’s pretty damn amazing if you ask me.

The Pixel Qi screen while in eReader mode has a lot of pluses -  Black and white with 64 shades of grayscale.  It’s reflective so it works in sunshine.  It uses very little battery power in black and white mode.  The full-color mode of Pixel Qi screens is like an LCD screen.  It even does what no other e-Ink display can, plays videos and full color photos.  You get everything you get with a regular LCD screen, just the lower power and higher-resolution of an e-Ink display. Pixel Qi won’t reveal yet how many nits when running at full brightness, and although it won’t win any illumination awards, it’s plenty bright. How it handled motion was a bit harder to gauge, when turned, it immediately switched to the electrophoretic reflective mode—where backlighting is replaced by ambient light reflecting off the back of the screen. In that mode, it is just as crisp as the Kindle for reading text. You can watch video in this mode too, though it’s not exactly pretty (the point being you don’t have to wait forever for the screen to refresh when you turn a page). They wouldn’t speculate on how much battery life improves when you turn off the backlight, simply stating that it saves you 2 watts of power.

They’ll be able to produce different sizes, for different form factor devices, meaning we should see them in a lot of different things over the next year or so.

Source:   Gizmodo

The post Pixel Qi’s Transflective LCD kills e-Ink appeared first on Mobile Magazine.

As expected with so many other e-book readers, this particular offering comes in the standard matte white finish, but it seems that hte slightly larger six-incher can come in black as well. It has some quick buttons at the bottom for ease of navigation, but perhaps one of the more appealing things is the marginally lower $199 price point.

Then again, you are only getting five inches of e-ink at that price. Other highlights include eight grayscale levels for more detailed resolution, faster page turns with an EPSON controller, 400MHz processor, text-to-speech for English and Chinese, SD expansion slot, and support for over 20 non-DRM formats.

As e-book readers grow in popularity, you can expect more of these second and third tier companies to push the price point lower while trying to shoehorn a few extra features.

The post Astak Pocket PRO EZ Reader for eBooks appeared first on Mobile Magazine.