Archive for August, 2009
Google Opens Up ePub Archive; A Million Books for Free no comments
Google announced yesterday in their Inside Google Books blog that they will be making their collection of over one million public domain ebooks available for free download in the epub format. Until now these books were only available in PDF. The epub format will make these ebooks accessible to more devices, however digitizing the books into the epub format requires using OCR (optical character recognition). OCR technology has been improving over the years, but I suspect that you can expect to see a few errors.
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Irex Joins the ePub Party no comments
In their blog today, Irex announced that they will be adding support for Adobe’s DRM’ed ePub format in the 4th quarter of this year. As Mobipocket’s DRM format cannot coexist at this time with another DRM format on the same ebook reader, they will continue to offer firmware that supports Mobipocket so that consumers can make their own choice of ebook providers.
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Third New Sony eBook Reader Announced no comments
Speculation on the net that Sony would release a wireless larger screen ebook reader that would be more of a challenge to the Kindle DX than the two models that we already know about was apparently true.
At its press conference in New York this morning, Sony announced the “Reader Daily Edition” which will have a 7″ touch screen with 16 grayscale levels. 3G wireless connectivity will be via AT&T at no additional charges to the user to connect to Sony’s eBook Store, but there will be no internet. The new ereader should be available in December at a price of $399.
Sony has also partnered with Overdrive to allow users to download ebooks from local participating libraries. These titles will expire after 21 days.
The Sony PRS-300
Sony has definitely launched a major assault against Fort Kindle with the impending release of its three new ereaders and new services; it will be interesting to see what response Amazon has up their sleeves.
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Irex’s New eReader Will Feature Barnes & Noble eBookstore no comments
In a press release dated Aug. 24 Irex announced that their upcoming ebook reader will include the Barnes and Noble eBook Store. The new Irex eReader is expected out later this year and will have a touch screen a little over 8″ in size and 3G wireless.
“We will change the dynamics of the consumer market – users want to easily purchase content from a variety of sources and we allow them to read it on an IREX eReader as well as other devices,” said Kevin Hamilton, North American CEO of IREX Technologies. “Signing this deal with Barnes & Noble positions IREX well in terms of content, and we’ll team with other industry leaders to provide the network infrastructure and retail presence.”
Barnes & Noble’s eBookstore has previously announced support for the Plastic Logic ebook reader due out by early next year. You can read the press release in its entirety here.
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Ectaco Jetbook Selling for as Low as $199 1 comment
You can now buy the Ectaco Jetbook at Newegg.com in either white or graphite color for $199 and both models come with free shipping. Until the new Sony readers come out, this has got to be the cheapest ebook reader available. And the Jetbook is a quality ereader.
Ectaco’s Jetbook ebook reader has been out for about 1 1/2 years and has generally received good reviews. Some of the features of this ereader:
- Solidly built
- 5″ screen; device itself is 6″ x 4.24″ x 3/8″ and weighs 7.5 oz
- Instead of e-Ink, the Jetbook uses a LCD screen with no backlighting so it does not cause eye stress; page turns are faster than e-Ink. Readable in sunlight
- Batteries are rated for 20 hours of use
- Plays mp3
- SD card slot
- 2 fonts – Ariel and Verdana – 6 font sizes available
- Pre installed dictionary
- No wireless; connects to your computer via USB; drag and drop ebook files onto device
- Folder based library management; you can move titles between folders and manage your library from the device
- Support for many European languages
- File formats supported: non-protected ePub, Mobi, PRC, RTF, .txt, .pdf, .fb2, .jpg, .gif, .png, and .bmp
The main drawback of the Jetbook is that it currently does not support DRM’ed ebooks, so you are pretty much limited to titles in the public domain, and of course, whatever you can buy in ePub and mobi without DRM. When queried about future plans to support DRM’ed ebooks, Ectaco’s response was rather vague; just stating that when DRM files are supported they will post it on their website. While not very helpful, this may indicate that they are working on a solution. If they do start supporting formats with DRM, it would certainly expand the available ebook titles greatly by including contemporary literature that is not sold without DRM, and perhaps turn the Jetbook into a true contender rather than an also-ran. Depending on your reading habits, the Ectaco Jetbook at its new lower price could be a great bargain for you.
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Sony to Support ePub Format no comments
Sony has recently announced that it will be converting ebooks sold in its ebook store to the ePub open format instead of its current proprietary BBeB LRF format. The ePub format is supported by an increasing number of publishers and ebook readers. This is good news in that hopefully someday we will have an open ebook format that will work across most or all ebook readers. In a perfect eworld an ebook we buy at any store should work on any ereader.
Unfortunately, it’s not time to break out the Champaign just yet. Sony’s ebooks will still have DRM, thanks to Adobe Content Server. Currently there are 17 ereaders that are compatible with Adobe’s system. Something that is not compatible: Mobipocket DRM. Bebook owners who update to the August 2009 firmware which adds compatibility to Adobe Digital Editions are finding that they can no longer read Mobipocket DRM’ed files on their readers, rendering any previously purchased titles in that format useless. This is because Amazon, which owns Mobipocket, doesn’t at this time permit Mobi DRM to co-exist on the same device with other DRM systems. Hopefully Amazon will change this.
Nevertheless, Sony’s announcement is a direct shot over Amazon’s bow, and a brilliant strategic move. Will Amazon maintain its current fortress mentality, locking Kindle users into buying their ebooks primarily from Amazon, and not opening the Kindle ebook store to users of ebook readers other than the Kindle? A couple of years ago when Amazon opened their music download store, they played the part of the liberator; so it is ironic that they now find themselves on the opposite side of a similar battle.
In fact, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos has dropped hints in the past that there are plans to make Kindle books available to other brands of ebook readers. See this engadget post for more on that.
What would the effects be if Amazon decided tomorrow to match Sony’s move? Personally, I think it would be beneficial for Amazon and the Kindle ebook store, and most definitely good for ereader owners of all stripes. Most of the negative comments that I’ve seen about the Kindle specifically (vs. ebook readers in general – i.e. people who can’t imagine a device replacing a dead tree book) have to do with the closed format. I think Amazon would gain a lot of new converts if they made the Kindle more open.
If we were no longer forced to buy our ebooks from specific sellers, but could choose to purchase from any number of ebook stores and still expect the title to be readable from whichever device we happen to have, how would it change the way the ebook stores compete?
- Brand Loyalty: Both Sony and Amazon have their devotees.
- Price: Traditionally, product competition by price usually leads to price erosion – good for consumers in the short term, but maybe in the long run less product to choose from as producers go out of business or are consolidated. When it comes to ebooks though, the publishers will probably be able to draw the bottom line. What would happen to bestsellers for $9.99? Reportedly Amazon looses money on a lot of these, as they have to pay the publishers more than that. There would obviously be no reason for a loss leader program like this if you do not need to buy a Kindle to read them. Perhaps Amazon would continue to subsidize bestsellers for registered Kindle owners?
- The Shopping Experience: Which ebook store is the easiest and most intuitive to use? I think Amazon is a clear winner here, but that’s just my opinion.
Finally, where would a Sony matching move by Amazon leave Barnes & Noble? They are obviously hoping to position themselves as the main Kindle alternative when the Plastic Logic reader comes out early next year. I’m not sure at all if that boat would still float. B & N’s ebook store is also built around a proprietary format and DRM; reportedly even DRM’ing free public domain books.
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Download Your Textbooks no comments
Back to school time is here again already, and with it come all of the related expenses. More and more textbooks are becoming available as digital downloads, and in many cases will be significantly cheaper than their paper versions, not to mention easier for you to carry around. Of course it would be great if
all digital textbooks were available for Kindle or other ebook readers. Unfortunately we are not quite there yet, but if the textbooks you need are not available on your ebook reader, they may be available in a digital version for your computer. There are an increasing number of online providers for etextbooks, and we will take a look at some of the largest:
CourseSmart
Offers over 7,000 digital textbooks for college, costing on average 50% less than the dead tree versions. Search capabilities, highlighting, note taking, and copy/paste are supported. You can also print out pages from CourseSmart’s etextbooks. Students can subscribe to either a downloadable version of an etext or an online version that can be accessed from any computer. Subscriptions last for 180, 360, or 540 days. Subscribers can also access their etextbooks via their iPhones and iPod Touch.
Textbooks.com
eTexts from Textbooks.com are downloaded to your personal computer and read using Adobe Digital Edition, Adobe Reader 7.1, or VitalSource Reader. Printing is allowed unless banned by the publisher. Subscriptions last for a minimum of 12 months.
iChapters
iChapters sells not only entire etextbooks, but also individual chapters. This can enable you to buy just the chapters that you need, or to pay as you go through the course. iChapters’ digital textbooks can be either viewed online or downloaded to your computer. You get two licenses for each title, so you can access from two different computers. Printing is allowed.
Update: iChapters is having a contest, you can enter to Win $1000 in Free Textbooks from iChapters.com. Expires August 26, 2009.
www.ecampus.com
This online seller of both paper versions and digital textbooks has over 4,000 etexts available. Titles are available in either an online or downloadable version. Subscription lasts for one or two semesters. eCampus also buys your used paper textbooks.
Cafescribe’s e-textbooks support note sharing and text to speech functions in addition to the other common features. Purchasers are granted a lifetime license to a title on up to three computers. You must use the company’s MyScribe reader software. Limited printing (up to 30%) is permitted, and the same limits apply to copy/paste. MyScribe is also available in a portable version that you can install on a USB key.
Textbookmedia.com
Digital textbooks from this provider are free, as they are supported by in-text advertising. You can also upgrade to ad-free versions. Free versions support only very limited printing capability; if printing out passages is a priority you may want to upgrade.
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Barnes & Noble and Plastic Logic’s New eBook Reader vs. Amazon’s Kindles no comments
From the information leaked so far about Sony’s new ebook readers, I think we can safely say that they will not pose a serious threat to the Kindle 2
not actually hit the street yet (they should be out by the end of August), so it is always possible that Sony’s new devices will have more features than we know about now. So unless something comes out of left field or if Amazon should shoot themselves in the foot again (highly unlikely), it looks like the next major challenger to the Kindle family will be the Plastic Logic ereader due out early 2010.
What we think we know so far about Plastic Logic’s ebook reader:
- Reportedly will cost around $300 (this is apparently incorrect – see the update at end of article)
- It will have wireless connectivity powered by AT&T (oh dear); unclear if there will be an additional charge for this, no internet
- E ink Active Matrix Display
- Unbreakable screen, touchscreen
- Screen size is said to be larger than Kindle DX. Device size 8.5″ x 11″.
- Document support for: PDF, DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT, PPTX, JPEG, PNG, TEXT, HTML, BMP, RTF, ePub; not clear yet which DRM’ed formats will be supported
- Operating system is a version of Microsoft’s Win CE
- It will be supported by Barnes & Noble’s ebook store
In preparation, the Barnes and Noble eBook Store is now open, so I decided to have a look-see. Until the new ereader comes out, you need to install their eReader software on your computer or supported device to access their books. There are versions so far for PC and Mac, iPhone and iPod Touch, and Blackberry. All versions support bookmarks, note taking & highlighting, and have customizable fonts.
Whichever version you choose, you will get a few free ebooks to start with. Unfortunately, you don’t get to choose which books: the included titles are Dracula, Last of the Mohicans, Little Women, Pride and Prejudice, and Sense and Sensibility. Since Barnes and Noble made a big deal of having a half million free books from Google, I had hoped that I could at least choose my titles. There doesn’t appear to be a “Free eBooks” link on their site, so to access the selection of free titles you have to choose a category and then sort by price. When you do this, there are many duplicate titles in the free price range, presumably digitized from different issues of the same book.
Compared to shopping on Amazon’s website, the Barne’s and Noble site is less finished and a little clunky. Curiously, when I clicked on the Sci Fi & Fantasy ebook category, I was told there were no results for my search; though when I typed in an author’s name and tried again some titles were found. I compared prices for a double handful of titles with Amazon’s Kindle store, and in almost all cases the Kindle books were a little to significantly less.
Purchased ebooks are tied to the credit card that B&N has on file for your account, so gifting ebooks through their system will be difficult (although this is an area that is problematic for Kindle and other ebook readers as well).
Of course we will have to wait until the Plastic Logic reader comes out to see if buying books wirelessly is the painless experience it is on a Kindle, but at this point Barnes & Noble seems to have more work to do to make shopping for ebooks at their site as easy as it is at Amazon.
Update (08/09): Plastic Logic has denied the $300 price for their upcoming ebook reader. In an email reported at ireaderreview.com, they say that ” we plan to be competitive in the eReader category, where prices now range from $199 to $800. But we won’t be at the low end of the market.”
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More Details of New Sony eBook Readers no comments
There have been rumors over the last few days of new Sony ereaders to replace the PRS-505 and PRS 700. The PRS-505 and PRS-700 are shown as no longer available at some resailers which
started the speculation. At the Sony site, the PRS-505 is still available in some colors , while the PRS-700 is listed as no longer available. Copies of user manuals for the new models were leaked. Now more specs have surfaced on the new PRS-300
missing, will leave Sony’s new Dynamic Duo behind the Amazon Kindles. The listed 8-levels of gray scale is also less than the Kindle’s 16. The more expensive PRS-600 has a touch screen – it remains to be seen if Sony was able to solve the glare problem of the PRS-700. You can read more at Sony Insider.
