Find eBook Readers Blog

Two more epaper technologies fail

Richard — Thu, 17 May 2012 17:08:32 +0000

Plastic Logic, whose large format flexible screened Que ereader made a big splash at CES 2010 before being canceled after the launch of the first iPad, and who most recently had an educational ereader using its novel plastic electronics in trials at a few Russian schools, has abandoned plans to manufacture its own ereader and will instead focus on licensing its technology out to others. Plastic Logic had just unveiled a new color epaper it had developed, but which now may well never see the light of day. (Via Financial Times)

Now comes word (via DigiTimes) that Delta Electronics and Bridgestone have given up on producing their much delayed QR-LPD color epaper. Delta had already said some time ago that it had suspended plans for releasing an ereader based on the color epaper created by Bridgestone, but would continue conducting R&D on the technology. Reasons cited include the much lower price of LCD displays and the fierce competition between devices.

The ready adoption of LCD displays by consumers has torpedoed the development of non-backlit color displays and flexible screen technology. These technologies are very expensive to develop and devices using them are seemingly impossible to deliver to market at a price that is competitive with LCD. Sure, there are users who really, really want a good reflective color display – but apparently not enough of them who are willing to pay the higher price to support such devices. I’m guessing that the only way we will see an ereader with color epaper hit the market and have a chance of success is if Amazon or another content-centric company releases it at near or below cost.

Samsung supposedly will put the electrowetting display technology it acquired from Liquavista into production next year. I wouldn’t be surprised if that turns into a no-show as well, but my fingers remain crossed.

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Kobo gets Pottermore connection

Richard — Thu, 17 May 2012 15:10:41 +0000

Kobo ereader users can now link their Kobo accounts to the Pottermore Shop so that any Harry Potter ebooks purchased there will download directly into their Kobo libraries. There is a new Harry Potter page at Kobo with details and links to purchase the books.

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Nook Tablet 8GB – $149

Richard — Wed, 16 May 2012 16:06:10 +0000

Through its eBay storefront, Barnes & Noble is selling new – not refurbished – 8GB Nook Tablets for $149. This is $50 off of the usual price and is probably not going to last long as the available quantities are said to be limited. This is a good deal; the Nook Tablets are quite nice and this is about the same price as a refurbished Nook Color, which is older hardware.

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Glow in the dark Kindle incoming; Color Kindle probably not

Richard — Tue, 15 May 2012 16:46:01 +0000

A source has reportedly told Reuters that a front-lit Kindle is in production and will be launched in July. Although Barnes & Noble’s Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight was the first ereader with a front-lit screen to hit the market (not counting Sony’s PRS-700 a few years ago), expectations have been that Amazon had its own similar glow-in-the-dark ereader in the works. According to Reuters’ source the pricing should be very similar to the current Kindle Touch.

The article also throws cold water on the rumor from last week that Amazon would be releasing a color Kindle using E Ink’s Triton display. That particular rumor did seem rather suspect. Besides the questionable readiness of E Ink’s color EPD display for prime time and mass production, I think it is also questionable whether a large enough market now exists to support the release of a Kindle with a reflective color display unless it could be delivered at under $200.

While such a device could be very important for some users (scientists, technicians and students who need to view a lot of documents with color graphics or fans of graphic novels, for example), I wonder if there is enough demand to make for more than a niche market, since most users seem content with backlit LCD displays, which are cheaper and with their more vibrant colors and faster response times are better for things like web browsing and gaming.

Perhaps a color display would make a sensible option for a next generation Kindle DX, as the larger screen format is also useful for the type of user I imagine would most want a reflective color display and be willing to pay for it. Many Kindle owners who just want to use their ereader for reading normal ebooks with few or no illustrations probably are not interested in paying a significant premium for a color e-ink screen. If E Ink Holdings could get the cost down to almost the same level as the current monochrome displays that would be another matter.

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Free ebooks for Kindle & other ereaders – 5/13/2012

Richard — Sun, 13 May 2012 22:08:10 +0000

Please check and make sure that any of these you like are still free before you click the Buy button. Happy Mom’s Day!

Too Close to Miss by John Perich (4 1/2 stars/13 reviews) Mystery; Women sleuths. Also free at Kobo.

Paydirt by Paul Levine (5 stars/8 reviews) Crime fiction; Sports.

Death of a Serpent (A Serafina Florio Mystery) by Susan Russo Anderson (4 stars/30 reviews) Historical mystery; Women sleuths.

Ms America and the Offing on Oahu (Beauty Queen Mysteries No. 1) by Diana Dempsey (4 stars/24 reviews) Mystery; Women sleuths. Also free at Kobo.

Killer Twist (A Ghostwriter Mystery) by C.A. Larmer (5 stars/1 reviews) Mystery; Women sleuths. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

Skin Deep (Simeon Grist #3) (Simeon Grist Mystery) by Timothy Hallinan (5 stars/11 reviews) Mystery; Hard-boiled.

Kill All the Lawyers (Solomon vs. Lord) by Paul Levine (4 stars/16 reviews) Legal thriller.

No Time To Run (Legal Thriller Featuring Michael Collins, Book 1) by J.D. Trafford (4 1/2 stars/29 reviews).

Let Us Prey (Book 1, Gotcha Detective Agency Mysteries) (Gotcha Detective Agency Series) by Jamie Lee Scott (4 1/2 stars/26 reviews) Mystery; Women sleuths.

The Valley of Shadows by Mark Terry (4 1/2 stars/6 reviews) Thriller; Terrorists.

Supreme Betrayal by Steve Nyman (5 stars/5 reviews) Thriller; Spies. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

Truth’s Lair – Perils of the Dead Man’s Diary by J. Richard Knapp (5 stars/12 reviews) Historical thriller; WWII.

Natural Causes (The Inspector McLean Mysteries) by James Oswald (5 stars/2 reviews) Supernatural mystery. Also free at Kobo.

Loose Ends – A Mary O’Reilly Paranormal Mystery (Book 1) by Terri Reid (4 1/2 stars/150 reviews).

Life Descending (The Cry of Havoc) by John Hennessy (4 1/2 stars/5 reviews) Science fiction. Also free at Kobo.

Communion of Dreams by James Downey (5 stars/24 reviews) Science fiction; Post-apocalyptic; Alien artifact.

Terrene: the hidden valley by Eric Liu (5 stars/48 reviews) Science fiction. Also free at Kobo.

New World: a Frontier Fantasy Novel by Steven W. White (5 stars/1 reviews) Fantasy. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

The Last Elf of Lanis by K. J. Hargan (4 stars/12 reviews) Fantasy. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

Crossover (The Chosen One Trilogy: Book One) by Mireille Chester (4 1/2 stars/5 reviews) Fantasy. Also free at Barnes & Noble.

Shadow of the Sun (Timeless #1) by Laura Kreitzer (4 stars/48 reviews) Fantasy. Also free at Kobo.

The Hawk And His Boy (The Tormay Trilogy #1) by Christopher Bunn (4 stars/89 reviews) Fantasy. Also free at Kobo.

Bartemus Ammblin in the Old Forest (Prairie Adventures) by Jeffrey Scott Bishop (5 stars/3 reviews) Speculative fiction; Rabbits.

Terra Incognita: The Abyss by Joshua Mays (4 1/2 stars/9 reviews) Fantasy; Ancient evil book. Also free at Barnes & Noble.

A Cold Day In Hell by Denise M Main (4 1/2 stars/4 reviews) Fantasy; Demons.

Nordic Fairies (Novella Series, #1) (Nordic Fairies Series) by Saga Berg (4 stars/12 reviews) Fantasy; Short story. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

The Sentient Fire (The Seven Signs) by D.W. Hawkins (5 stars/9 reviews) Epic fantasy. Also free at Kobo.

The Initiate (Cloud Prophet Trilogy, Prequel) by Megg Jensen (4 1/2 stars/7 reviews) Fantasy; Short story. Also free at Barnes & Noble.

The Mind Readers by Lori Brighton (4 1/2 stars/37 reviews) YA Paranormal fiction. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

Sojourner (Book 1) (Sojourner Series) by Maria Rachel Hooley (4 stars/37 reviews) YA Paranormal fiction. Also free at Kobo.

Wilted (A Witching Pen Novellas Prequel) (The Witching Pen Novellas) by Dianna Hardy (4 stars/2 reviews) YA Paranormal; Short story. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

Paradox – The Angels Are Here by Patti Roberts (4 stars/42 reviews) YA Fantasy. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

The Amulet: A Faedra Bennett Custodian Novel by Alison Pensy (4 stars/57 reviews) YA Fantasy. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

The Book of the King (The Wormling) by Jerry B. Jenkins and Chris Fabry (5 stars/8 reviews) YA Fantasy from a faith-based publisher. Also free at Barnes & Noble.

The League of Freaks and the Secret Key by Alberto Hazan (4 1/2 stars/36 reviews) YA Fantasy.

The Key of Kilenya (Kilenya Series) by Andrea Pearson (4 1/2 stars/37 reviews) YA Science fiction. Also free at Barnes & Noble.

Haven (War of the Princes) by A. R. Ivanovich (5 stars/24 reviews) YA Science fiction; Steampunk.

Survival, a YA paranormal romance (Book 1 of The Guardians of Vesturon Series) by A.M. Hargrove (4 stars/39 reviews). Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

Tangled Tides (The Sea Monster Memoirs) by Karen Amanda Hooper (4 1/2 stars/40 reviews) Paranormal romance; Merfolk.

Bound, An Arelia LaRue Novel #1 YA Paranormal (The Arelia LaRue Series) by Kira Saito (4 stars/51 reviews) YA Paranormal romance. Also free at Barnes & Noble.

Haunted on Bourbon Street (Jade Calhoun Series Book 1) by Deanna Chase (4 1/2 stars/39 reviews) Ghosts; Paranormal romance.

How to Date a Werewolf (Rylie Cruz Series) by Rose Pressey (4 stars/67 reviews) Paranormal romance.

Samson’s Lovely Mortal (Scanguards Vampires #1) by Tina Folsom (4 1/2 stars/168 reviews) Vampiric romance. Also free at Kobo.

Once Bitten (Alexa O’Brien Huntress Book 1) by Trina M. Lee (4 stars/5 reviews) Paranormal romance; Shifters & Vampires. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

Cursed (The Devil’s Roses) by Tara Brown (4 stars/7 reviews) Paranormal romance. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

Breathless: Book One of the Jason and Azazel Trilogy by V. J. Chambers (4 stars/47 reviews) YA Paranormal romance. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

To Love A Witch (A Novel Nibbles title) by Debora Geary (4 1/2 stars/53 reviews) Paranormal romance; Short story.

Reunion by Jeff Bennington (4 stars/107 reviews) Paranormal romantic suspense.

Discovery – A Far Out Romance by T.M. Roy and Terran Moffat (4 stars/12 reviews) Sci-fi romance.

The Smoky Dragon by Brandon Berntson (4 1/2 stars/2 reviews) Fantasy; Romance.

A Timeless Love by Jeanne Savery (4 stars/4 reviews) Time travel romance.

‘Scuse Me While I Kill This Guy (Greatest Hits Mysteries) by Leslie Langtry (4 stars/19 reviews) Romantic suspense; Dark humor. Also free at Kobo.

Baby Kisses (Romance on the Ranch Series #3) by Verna Clay (4 1/2 stars/7 reviews) Contemporary Colorado romance.

Preservation by Rachael Wade and Susan Miller (5 stars/19 reviews) Contemporary romance.

Suite Nothings by J. M. Jeffries (4 stars/11 reviews) Contemporary romance.

Love Unlisted: A Novel by Stephanie Haddad (4 1/2 stars/7 reviews) Contemporary romance. Also free at Kobo.

Broken Hearts Damaged Goods by Jack Gunthridge (4 stars/13 reviews) Contemporary romance.

Walk in Beauty (Men of the Land) by Ruth Wind and Barbara Samuel (5 stars/4 reviews) Contemporary romance.

Georgia on My Mind by Marie Force (5 stars/26 reviews) Contemporary romance.

Friend and Lover (Cautious Women, Tempting Men) by Angela Benson (5 stars/5 reviews) Contemporary romance.

Until Forever (Women of Prayer) by Darlene Shortridge (4 1/2 stars/17 reviews) Contemporary romance; Religious.

Texas Roads (A Miller’s Creek Novel) by Cathy Bryant (4 1/2 stars/33 reviews) Contemporary romance; Religious.

Destiny Wears Spurs by Kari Lee Harmon (5 stars/7 reviews) Contemporary cowboy romance.

Cowboy Heat (Hell Yeah!) by Sable Hunter (4 1/2 stars/39 reviews) Contemporary western romance; Erotica.

Connections by Selena Kitt (4 stars/11 reviews) Erotica. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

Lavender Vows (The Medieval Herb Garden Series 1) by Colleen Gleason (4 stars/13 reviews) Historical romance.

The Fragrance of Her Name by Marcia Lynn McClure (4 1/2 stars/22 reviews) Historical romance.

Forevermore (A Jewel Trilogy Novella) by Lauren Royal (4 stars/13 reviews) Historical romance.

Yorkshire: Richard and Rose, Book 1 by Lynne Connolly (4 stars/12 reviews) Historical romance. Also free at Barnes & Noble.

Candlelight Wish (Wishing For Love, Book One) by Janice Bennett (4 stars/1 reviews) Historical romance. Also free at Barnes & Noble and Kobo.

The Bedeviled Heart (The Highland Heather and Hearts Scottish Romance Series) by Carmen Caine (5 stars/26 reviews) Historical romance.

Wayfarer’s Promise by Sheila Raye (5 stars/2 reviews) Historical romance.

Fated Memories by Judith Ann McDowell (4 1/2 stars/15 reviews) Historical star-crossed romance.

Send Me A Lover by Carol Mason (5 stars/3 reviews) Contemporary fiction; Chic-lit.

Memoirs Aren’t Fairytales: A Story of Addiction by Marni Mann (5 stars/53 reviews) Contemporary fiction; Addiction.

Forever Silent by J.K. Drew (5 stars/2 reviews) YA Contemporary fiction.

I Called Him Dancer by G. Edward Snipes (4 1/2 stars/33 reviews) Contemporary fiction; Religious.

Joy by Anne L. Watson (5 stars/9 reviews) Literary fiction.

Fearless Heart by Gail Cauble Gurley (4 1/2 stars/12 reviews) Historical fiction.

Gold Under Ice by Carol Buchanan (5 stars/10 reviews) Historical fiction.

Rebooting My Brain: How a Freak Aneurysm Reframed My Life by Maria Ross (5 stars/15 reviews) Memoir.

Mother’s House Payment – A Memoir by Ronnie Schiller (5 stars/10 reviews) Bipolar Disorder.

Second-Chance Mother by Denise Roessle (5 stars/18 reviews) Memoir; Adoption.

Will Love For Crumbs – A Memoir by Jonna Ivin (4 1/2 stars/59 reviews).

For Animal Lovers by Kim Cano (5 stars/12 reviews) Children’s fiction; Short stories.

The Adventures of Marco and Carla: The Dark Castle by Shamara Davis (5 stars/2 reviews) Children’s fiction.

Behind the Desert Storm: A Secret Archive Stolen From the Kremlin that Sheds New Light on the Arab Revolutions in the Middle East by Pavel Stroilov (4 stars/4 reviews) History; Politics.

Etsy 101: Sell Your Crafts on Etsy, the DIY Marketplace for Handmade, Vintage and Crafting Supplies by Steve Weber (5 stars/22 reviews) How-to.

Raising Chickens In Your Backyard: A No-Fluff Guide To Chicken Breeds, Coops, Runs, Tractors And More by Anna Greenwood and Simple Self-Sufficiency (5 stars/5 reviews).

Let’s Get Digital: How To Self-Publish, And Why You Should by David Gaughran (5 stars/81 reviews) Self-publishing.

What’s Your Secret?: Freedom through Confession by Aaron Stern (5 stars/5 reviews) Religion. Also free at Barnes & Noble.

* * *

Soulless (Parasol Protectorate Series #1) by Gail Carriger (4 1/2 stars/316 reviews) has been reduced to $0.99 to promote the author’s latest book, Timeless. Same price at Barnes & Noble and Kobo. Haven’t read the book yet (it’s been in the stacks for some time), but I do love the cover.

Alexia Tarabotti is laboring under a great many social tribulations. First, she has no soul. Second, she’s a spinster whose father is both Italian and dead. Third, she was rudely attacked by a vampire, breaking all standards of social etiquette.

Where to go from there? From bad to worse apparently, for Alexia accidentally kills the vampire — and then the appalling Lord Maccon (loud, messy, gorgeous, and werewolf) is sent by Queen Victoria to investigate.

SOULLESS is a comedy of manners set in Victorian London: full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking.

Amazon’s Gold Box deal today is a selection of Kindle books that have been made into films priced at $0.99 each. Titles include I Am Legend, Wizard’s First Rule (first book in the Sword of Truth series), Who Goes There? (basis for The Thing movies) and more.

Scholastic has three new and free summer reading and math apps for children:

The Scholastic Reading Timer app for iPhone, iPad and Android smartphones helps kids keep track of how much they’re reading;
The Storia eReading app available for iPad and PC (with additional platforms rolling out soon) comes with five free ebooks and helps kids read and interact with favorite children’s eBooks;
Sushi Monster for the iPad supports the development of math fact fluency for addition and multiplication facts.

All three are free at iTunes.

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Mother’s Day weekend ereader & ebook sales

Richard — Sat, 12 May 2012 02:21:11 +0000

A few sales and deals for this Mother’s Day weekend:

Kobo is running a 30% off promotion on all titles published by Algonquin. To get the discount use the promo code Algonquin30 at checkout. For two of Algonquin’s biggest hits, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen and A Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick, only customers in the U.S. are eligible for the discount; other titles are eligible for the discount to readers in the U.S. and Canada, possibly elsewhere as well. This promotion will end on May 14.

Best Buy has a few deals, like a $20 gift card with the purchase of a Kindle with Special Offers or a Nook Simple Touch ereader or a $40 gift card when you purchase both a Kindle Fire and a Kindle with Special Offers.

Amazon has a selection of Kindle Fire covers that are discounted by 30% when purchased together with a Kindle Fire. Good through May 13.

MyHabit has a selection of designer and boutique Kindle and Kindle Fire cases and sleeves on sale. Included in the sale are the DODOcase for the Kindle Fire. This sale will end at 9AM PT on May 15, but usually individual items are of limited quantity at MyHabit and often sell out before the end of the sale. MyHabit is an Amazon company and you can sign into it with your Amazon account. There are some nice covers here that Mom would probably like.

DecalGirlhas a promo code – ILOVEMOM – that will be good for a 25% discount through May 14th.

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Amazon to release color Kindle ereader this year?

Richard — Thu, 10 May 2012 16:37:59 +0000

Digitimes is reporting (or rumoring) that Amazon will likely release a color Kindle utilizing a color EPD from E Ink Holdings in the second half of this year. According to the report, Amazon will be ditching the Neonode IR touchscreen used in the Kindle Touch and instead use a multi-touch capacitive touchscreen for the new ereader.

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KOLL to get Potter books

Richard — Thu, 10 May 2012 15:09:03 +0000

Amazon has reached an agreement with Pottermore to bring all seven of the Harry Potter ebooks to the Kindle Owners’ Lending Library (KOLL). From June 19 the Potter series will be available at KOLL in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish.

Amazon Prime members can borrow one Kindle book at a time per month for free from KOLL. The KOLL catalogue appears to be growing steadily, in spite of considerable skepticism when Amazon launched the service – Amazon says there are now 145,000 books, up from 130,000 at the end of March, roughly six weeks ago.

It also appears that J.K. Rowling has done a complete about face since a few years ago when she refused to even let the Potter books be released in ebook format.

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E Ink Holdings announces planned furlough and pay cuts

Richard — Wed, 09 May 2012 16:35:44 +0000

Sales of LCD tablets like the Kindle Fire, which Amazon says has replaced the e-ink Kindles as its bestselling product, are apparently taking their toll on the sales of devices with e-ink displays.

E Ink Holdings reported worse earnings than expected for the first quarter of this year, turning in its first quarterly loss in the last two and a half years or so. Today the Taiwanese EPD manufacturer announced planned furloughs and pay cuts – 589 employees will have two unpaid days off in May and June and employees of division director rank or above will see their paychecks get a 10-20 percent haircut over the same period.

(via Focus Taiwan)

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B&N to get MasterCard’s new digital wallet service

Richard — Tue, 08 May 2012 15:36:50 +0000

Yesterday MasterCard announced PayPass Wallet Services. This is a digital wallet service that, in addition to providing a ‘Buy With PayPass’ button on participating online merchant’s websites, will also be integrated with Near Field Communication (NFC) chips embedded in mobile devices. NFC chips enable mobile devices to exchange information with other devices that have embedded NFC chips or objects with unpowered NFC tags when they touch or come into close proximity to each other.

In a recent interview with Fortune, Barnes & Noble CEO William Lynch said that NFC chips will be coming to Nook devices, enabling Nook users to do things like hold their ereader up to a pbook on a shelf at a B&N store and get information on the book and possibly even purchase the ebook version and have it start downloading to their ereader’s library.

Indeed, MasterCard said in its announcement that Barnes & Noble and American Airlines will be among the first merchants to begin using the service by having the PayPass online checkout button on their websites. You can expect to start seeing the PayPass button sometime in the third quarter of this year. Probably the next generation of Nook ereaders will feature the NFC chips that will let them read NFC tags affixed to paper books in B&N stores.