Find eBook Readers Blog

Kindle App For Android Coming?

Richard — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 17:05:26 +0000

Engadget has posted some leaked internal Dell flyers showing the Android-based Dell Mini 5 and listing some of its features:

Kindle “book reader” applications
Amazon MP3
Amazon Video Streams
Amazon Store

This could mean that Kindle for Android is coming soon. Amazon has not announced anything, but with the number of Android-based devices coming to market it seems obvious that Amazon will want to make an Android reading app to go along with Kindle for PC, Kindle for Blackberry and the soon to come Kindle for Mac.

There is a Kindle blurb on the Dell flyer that claims over 300,000 books available in the Kindle store. That would have been correct about 4-5 months ago if memory serves; now there are over 420,000 books. So I’m guessing that the leaked docs are probably from about that time?

(Via jkOnTheRun)

Possibly Related Posts:

Read an E-Book Week

Richard — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:44:49 +0000

This is Read an E-Book Week and there are a number of sales and free books to help you celebrate. Smashwords has a special section for the event and you can also visit the Official Read an E-Book Week page for a listing of other participating ebook stores and authors offering specials.

Possibly Related Posts:

Samsung eReader to Connect with Barnes & Noble eBookstore

Richard — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 20:31:53 +0000

In a press release today Samsung announced the “ imminent availability” of its first ereader for the US market. Samsung has partnered with Barnes & Noble which will provide the ebook storefront.

This would be Samsung’s E6 ereader. Some of the features include a 6-inch e-ink screen with a Wacom digitizer with note taking and annotating abilities. Productivity tools include a voice recorder as well as a journal and a calendar that can sync with Outlook.

Connectivity includes Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. EmoLink technology allows users of Samsung ereaders to share content. The E6 is also compatible with B&N’s LendMe feature, so sharing should work between this ereader and devices using B&N’s eReader software as well as the nook ereader.

The E6 ereader comes with 2GB of internal memory and has a Micro SD card slot.

One feature that will not be much of a crowd pleaser is the previously announced price tag of $399, although it is always possible that the price will be lower once the E6 hits the streets. I saw Samsung’s ereaders at CES and there was not much that would make me want to jump up and run out to buy one at $399. Update: The price on the E6 has reportedly dropped to $299.

Possibly Related Posts:

New York Times to Offer Stand-Alone Book Review Section for eReaders

Richard — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:42:46 +0000

The New York Times currently will cost you $13.99 per month to subscribe on your Kindle, Sony or Barnes & Noble compatible ereader. The NYT apparently plans to break out its Book Review section and make it available as a separate product at an undisclosed price.

PoynterOnline reports that Times director of marketing James Dunn referred to the plan during an interview at the Digital Publishing Alliance. The Sony Reader Store will get the Book Section first in a few weeks, followed by the Kindle store and Barnes & Noble.

Possibly Related Posts:

Kindle to Get a New Browser?

Richard — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:23:34 +0000

The Web browsing experience on the few e-ink based ereaders that have that ability is generally slow and clunky. It works if you do not have a more capable device on hand, but there is definitely much room for improvement.

Fast Company has noticed a job opening at Lab126, which is Amazon’s Kindle design department, for an engineer to be part of a team charged with being “responsible to provide an innovative Embedded Web Browser” and to “design and implement new features on the Browser.” Said engineer must have a "familiarity with current Web standards" and “a proven ability to deliver high quality work on tight schedules.”

Obviously Amazon is being pressured by the myriad new devices coming to market soon, and by the iPad in particular. New ereaders such as Spring Design’s Alex will also provide a much better Web browsing experience than the Kindle currently does.

Internet browsing on the Kindle ereader is free. If Amazon were to make the browsing experience on the next Kindle comparable to that of a tablet or other MID would users have to start paying for the connection? A better browser would mean more use and therefore more bandwidth used.

Possibly Related Posts:

DIY Pixel Qi Kits

Richard — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 00:16:16 +0000

On her Pixel Qi blog Mary Lou Jepsen writes that do-it-yourself Pixel Qi kits will be available around the end of the second quarter of this year. If you are so inclined you could use one of these kits to mod your laptop or netbook and give it a reflective screen better suited for ereading. This should also give you a screen viewable in sunlight. No pricing is given as of yet.

It’s only slightly more difficult than changing a lightbuld: it’s basically 6 screws, pulling off a bezel, unconnecting the old screen and plugging this one in. That’s it. It’s a 5 minute operation.

Possibly Related Posts:

eReaders in 2010

Ereader Sales & Free eBooks 3/7/2010

Richard — Sun, 07 Mar 2010 19:54:47 +0000

Read an eBook Week starts today. The Huffington Post has an article about and a brief interview with Rita Toews, who is the person behind Read an eBook Week.

Read an Ebook Week brings together ebook retailers, publishers, authors, device-makers and untold thousands of readers who join in this international literary event of ebook discovery, and yes, gluttony.

For the one week only, publishers and authors offer thousands of original ebooks for free and at deep discounts to encourage book lovers around the globe to give ebooks a try.

Hmmm… yes indeed. We can see how publishers everywhere are trying to encourage us all to switch to ebooks.

Newegg.com has the Astak EZ Reader Pocket Pro on sale for $209.99 plus $1.99 shipping. This ereader is available in multiple colors.

Free eBooks

For the Kindle ereader at Amazon:

The Someday List (Jubilant Soul Series #1) by Stacy Hawkins Adams (4 1/2 stars/20 reviews) Contemporary fiction.

Moonstone by Marilee Brothers (4 stars/16) Young adult fantasy.

Sushi for One? by Camy Tang (4 1/2 stars/53 reviews) Christian fiction.

In ePub format at Kobo:

Fear of Fighting by Stacey May Fowles (No rating) Contemporary fiction.

The Art of Clubbing by Mike Banton (5 stars/6 ratings)

Popular Science Magazine Archive

Popular Science Magazine, in a partnership with Google, has scanned its complete 137-year archive and made it available online for free. At the moment you cannot browse by issue, but once you enter the archive via keyword search you are able to browse at will. At the moment mobile support is limited to the iPhone.

For more free ebooks see my Free and Cheap Kindle Books page.

Possibly Related Posts:

Asus DR-900 Ereader; KeyReader

Richard — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 07:31:02 +0000

Here are a couple more new ereaders that have been announced recently.

Asus DR-900

The Asus DR-900 ereader has been on display at CeBit 2010 this week in Germany. This one has a 9-inch touchscreen SiPix display and comes with Wi-Fi and optional 3G. Battery life is said to be 10,000 page turns. Text-to-Speech is planned, though its availability will depend on the publishers allowing its use. The DR-900 will come with 2GB to 4GB internal storage and an SD card. So far details on availability are somewhat sketchy.

Charbax has a video of the DR-900 from CeBit.

KeyReader

The KeyReader is being marketed by iCell, which is a wireless network provider in Singapore. This appears to be a rebranded Onyx Boox (like the Bebook Neo), and has the same features. One nice twist is that the KeyReader will be able to access over 900,000 free ebooks from the National Library Board. The price is said to be between $399 – $499 (Singapore dollars).

(Via Straits Times)

Possibly Related Posts:

Amazon Makes it Easier to Find Free Content

Richard — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 06:34:36 +0000

I noticed this morning that Amazon had put their free music downloads all in one easy to browse place, apparently they are doing the same with other free digital content.

Free public domain ebooksfor Kindle ereaders. Currently there are about 20,000 titles here. If you don’t find what you are looking for in the Kindle store you could also go to Gutenberg.org or Internet Archive. There is also a Big Deals on Kindlepage which lists a few of the contemporary free titles for the Kindle, but not all.

There is a page of free video on demand. Mostly these are television episodes and extra content from a few movies. Not a lot here at the moment.

Free music downloads. Currently this page has about 1600 tracks that are free.

This definitely makes it easier for shoppers to find the free stuff and is a welcome addition to the Amazon shopping experience.

Possibly Related Posts:

Free Music at Amazon

Richard — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 17:33:07 +0000

Amazon usually has a few free tracks they announce every Tuesday. Well, I don’t know what the occasion is but today there is really a lot of free music. I ran out of time and had to stop looking when I got to free track number 400, but it looks like there are almost 1600 free tracks. Some of these I have seen before, so perhaps this is just a compendium of all of the free music at Amazon.