E-book readers, also known as e-Readers in certain quarters, are not exactly the fastest moving tablet-like device in the market at the moment, and neither has it been that way for a long time. In fact, the iPad and a plethora of Android-powered tablets are dominating the market at the moment, and e-book readers occupy just a small percentage of the share. This has not fazed Amazon though, as they have just announced the sixth generation Kindle Paperwhite reader, where it will boast of new display technology with a higher contrast, next generation built-in light, a faster processor, in addition to all-new reading features such as Kindle Page Flip, Goodreads, Kindle FreeTime, Smart Lookup, and Vocabulary Builder among others.
E-Readers
Gadget Gear for a Cause
October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. You see a number of fundraisers and campaigns in full swing. Incipio – makers of mobile device accessories – created their own method to raise funds and awareness thanks to our gadgets. Via “Case for a Cure” Incipio donates 20% of each pink accessory sold on their website to The Breast Cancer Research Foundation®. With such a worthwhile cause we thought it only appropriate to highlight a couple of the pink products.
Tablet Stand for All Uses
As our tablets become a bigger part of life we find ourselves using them everywhere. The desk, the kitchen counter, in bed, in the back yard, in the car. The list goes on and on. And a constant struggle exists with where the heck to set the thing. Doing the “balance the tablet on the stomach with legs bent to keep it upright while avoiding movement to prevent falling to the floor” game really takes away from any relaxation or productivity you attempt. And sure, there are plenty of stands that exist for specific reasons. But with our growing use of iPads, Kindles, Galaxy Tabs and the like, drawing the line on purchasing a stand for every use seems inevitable.
Wonderbook: Book of Spells offers augmented reality reading
I clearly remember back in the days when I was a wee lad, there was no such thing as video game consoles. All right, there was the Atari 2600, but how many people in my neighborhood could actually scurry up the money to buy one? There were bigger things to worry about such as putting food on the table, and the number of TV channels available for viewing could be counted on just one hand (in black and white as well, not many people had the dough to purchase a color TV).
What other forms of entertainment were there for kids like me? Plenty – the great outdoors proved to be a constantly evolving and changing playground, and all it took was some imagination to get us kids running around, screaming like crazy. When we are indoors because it is raining outside, we could always draw something or read a book, an activity that will do its bit to ensure that our minds are actively engaged, instead of being passively spoonfed like this generation. Books were veritable tomes of information, but kids of tomorrow have something else to look forward to – augmented reality reading, with Sony pursuing this front thanks to their Wonderbook: Book of Spells.
Interested in a new eReader, check out this Comparison Report
If you’re looking to buy a new eReader our friends over at Gizmos for Geeks have put together a great report listing the pros and cons of the most popular eReaders currently on the market. Each reader is compared based on price, battery life, dimensions, supported formats and much more. The most popular readers are: … Read more
iriver Story HD e-book reader
Are e-book readers going the way of high definition? That certainly looks like it, if the naming convention of the iriver Story HD ebook reader is anything to go by. Well, this is meant to help you pass time through long flights as well as other moments of commute, where it also holds the distinction of bringing yet another first to the world – we’re talking about it being the first 6” XGA resolution (that’s 768 x 1024 pixels) e-book reader worldwide, sporting 63.8% more pixels and faster page turns compared to other models in its class. To know more about this little puppy, you will have to read on in the extended post.
Ectaco introduces jetBook mini
Once you’ve taken a look at the title, do not groan and say “Oh no! Not another e-book reader that has descended upon us!”. Well, that might be the case, but you need not worry about Ectaco’s latest offering as the jetBook-mini will be an extension of the world’s leader in portable language learning and translation technology, empowering book lovers everywhere (whether they like flipping through virtual pages or not is another matter) to enjoy digital reading just about anytime and any place. Retailing for a dollar shy of a Benjamin, the new jetBook mini which was recently unveiled at the Frankfurt Book Fair and Consumer Electronics Show in Hong Kong, delivers all the more notable features of the jetBook family such as an ultra crisp 5″ reflective TFT screen technology, instant page turns, multiple language support and portability, all crammed into a body that sports a new look as well as 90 hours of non-stop reading time – all on just a quartet of AAA Energizer batteries. How’s that for longevity, eh? Of course, that makes perfect sense since this e-book reader will not be able to perform other functions that more powerful tablet devices can, making it a decent enough trade-off.
Android-powered Pandigital Novel hacked
E-book readers are all the rage these days, and it is interesting to note that more and more folks in developed countries who have a good reading habit are making the jump to digital books. After all, having a single device that can tote around hundreds and hundreds of tomes without weighing you down is always a boon, especially if you tend to do a whole lot of traveling. Of course, having an e-book reader might be considered to be a luxury for some, but it might just be the device for you if you want a gadget that gives you back much more than you can ever imagine, as we know (the right) books open up the mind when read and digested. There are many e-book readers around at the omment, but at $179 a pop, the Pandigital Novel is not the most affordable one in the market although it is one of the cheapest general purpose Android tablets available in the US. Of course, it is rather strange that the company did not market the Pandigital Novel in that manner.
Amazon Kindle sees price drop
Amazon just announced that their Kindle e-reader will receive a price drop to $189, falling all the way from $259. It would be interesting to see just how this rather steep price drop will help boost the Kindle’s sales in wake of the iPad’s phenomenal release and sales performance figures thus far. For those who … Read more
Acer LumiRead ebook reader announced
Who would have thought that even a company like Acer would take the plunge into the world of ebook readers? Well, that has happened with the Acer LumiRead, the latest device from Acer that touts to offer users an excellent reading experience as it seamlessly integrates in the Acer clear.fi solution. Since the Acer LumiRead is also DLNA compliant, it can access Acer clear.fi and share contents like eBooks and audio-books as well. Being light and extremely slim in profile, the Acer LumiRead is perfect for those who want to catch up on their reading when traveling, regardless of whether you’re indoors or outdoors, reading on the e-Ink display is a snap. Just in case you have already finished all of your downloaded tomes, you can also hook up via a Wi-Fi or 3G connectin to download the latest bestseller as well.