Archive for the ‘samsung ebook reader’ tag
eReader & Tablet News – 8/25/2010 no comments
The fracas that the Wylie Agency brought about last month when it decided to unilaterally publish 20 classic (but still under copyright) ebooks via its new Odyssey Editions exclusively through the Kindle Store has apparently come to an end. A joint statement by Markus Dohle , CEO of Random House and Mr. Wylie indicated that they had come to an agreement on the matter.
Reportedly Amazon will remove 13 of the 20 books released by Odyssey, but the ebooks should return to Amazon under Random House’s auspices, although that may mean Amazon will loose its exclusivity. I just checked a few of the titles and all were still available and still shown as published by Odyssey Editions.
Random House will also resume a normal business relationship with Wylie, which had been suspended during the dispute.
So it looks like Random House has won, but Wylie’s move hopefully will do something to speed up the digital publishing of publisher’s backlists, which would be a win for readers.
For more on this see the WSJ.
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Samsung will reportedly be stopping production of e-paper based ereaders, citing the high cost of the displays. The company is not completely abandoning the ereader space though, as it plans to launch an LCD-based ereader next year.
Samsung has also released a teaser video of the Samsung Galaxy Tab, which is below. According to the video the Galaxy Tab will be at IFA 2010 in Berlin.
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Ok, this is rather morbid. At last there is an iPad version of the trivia game “Celebrity Dead or Alive.” This is a game that “tests players knowledge and know-how of which stars are still the life of the party and which have permanently retired their dance cards.” $0.99 at iTunes. Great.
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Hanvon Technology Co., the largest Chinese ereader manufacturer, has announced that it will be using Freescale Semiconductor’s i.MX51 applications processor for its next generation ereaders.
The first Hanvon ereader to use the new 
processor is the E-800, which sports an 8-inch e-ink screen with 1024 x 768 resolution and weighs “only” one pound.
Freescale’s flagship i.MX51 processor delivers a compelling blend of features and functionality to meet the stringent requirements of eReader products. The processor combines an 800MHz ARM Cortex–A8 CPU with a large L2 cache memory to deliver high performance for fast rendering and page turns. It also includes advanced power management features to help extend battery life and increase usage between charges, while innovative ultra-low standby power schemes extend battery standby time.
In addition to i.MX technology, Hanvon’s eReader will also incorporate Freescale’s MMA7660FC low-power capacitive accelerometer and MC13892 power management IC, resulting in highly advanced eReader products that deliver extremely low power consumption in a slim, ultra-thin design.
In other Hanvon-related news, the Daily Yomiuri newspaper yesterday reported that the company will start providing Japanese content to Chinese readers. Tokyo-based Creek & River Co. has contracted to supply Japanese manga, novels and magazine articles to Hanvon.
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ebrary, which is a provider of digital content and technologies, announced today that it has partnered with CHOICE to offer digital editions of more than 1,000 of Choice’s recent Outstanding Academic Titles (OAT). CHOICE is the premier source of scholarly reviews. More from the press release:
Spanning all academic subject areas including Business & Economics, Education, History, Language & Literature, Music, Philosophy, Political Science, Psychology, Religion, and Sciences, ebrary’s CHOICE selection features leading publishers including Cambridge University Press, Duke University Press, Harvard University Press, Oxford University Press, Routledge, University of California Press, University of Chicago Press, Wiley, and Yale University Press. The titles may be previewed at http://site.ebrary.com/lib/choicetitles.
Additional key features and benefits:
- Available anytime through any web enabled device including the iPad—no cumbersome downloads.
- Ability to subscribe to and purchase additional titles that seamlessly integrate.
- 24/7 web-based training with a real person.
- Free MARC records.
- COUNTER-compliant usage statistics.
- Powerful tools for easy researching:
- Multiple options for searching, navigating, and browsing.
- ebrary InfoTools™, which turns every word into a portal to additional information on the web. InfoTools can be customized to link patrons to the resources of libraries’ choice.
- Notes and highlights that are automatically stored on a personal bookshelf.
- Ability to copy/paste and print text with automatic citations and URL hyperlinks back to the source.
- Personal bookshelves with moveable folders that can be shared with others.
- Much more!
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Samsung Launches E60 eReader at WHSmith no comments
Samsung has launched its E60 ereader in the UK where it is currently being sold by WHSmith. The E60 is priced at £199.99 and for a limited time comes with 10 free ebooks (not public domain).
While the E60 does have a lot of features, including handwriting recognition and an organizer feature, it will be hard competing at that price with the Kindle 3 with 3G which is £149. The iRiver Story with Wi-Fi is also priced at £199 at WHSmith or at Amazon. Amazon also already has a number of iRiver Story covers and cases.
Techradar has a hands on review of the Samsung E60 ereader and finds it well built and serviceable, but also questions whether it can fly at that price.
Almost six months ago Samsung announced plans to sell the E60 in the US in partnership with Barnes & Noble. Samsung (probably wisely) backed out of the US ereader market just before the recent price cuts on the Kindle and NOOK ereaders.
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Samsung eReader News no comments
Bloomberg Businessweek has a report that seems to indicate Samsung’s ereaders may have gone a bit Apple-shy:
This month, days before the eReader was to hit stores, Samsung delayed the launch and called the device back for retooling, said a company employee who asked not to be named. Samsung may add a color screen, 3G wireless capability, and a better battery, this person says. "Samsung is revisiting its approach to the e-reader market in the U.S.," spokeswoman Katie Seifert said in a statement.
This is referring to the ereader with the 10-inch screen – Samsung had four different models on display at CES. A 10-inch e-ink display does seem something of a hard sell post-iPad.
Samsung’s 6-inch E6 ereader was supposed to be available soon in the US and connect with Barnes & Noble for content. The E6 promises to be a feature-rich ebook reader. Samsung is also said to be launching at least one of its ereader models (dubbed the SNE-60) in the UK within the next few months.
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Samsung to Bring Its eReaders to Australia; Samsung Working on a Tablet as Well no comments
APCmag.com reports that Samsung will be introducing their ereaders to the Australian market in the latter part of this year. Samsung is still working on partnerships with publishers and content providers that serve the Australian market.
Apparently all four of Samsung ereaders that were shown at CES will be sold in Australia:
- E50 – Has a 5-inch screen and has an announced price of $299.
- E60 – Has a 6-inch screen.
- E65 – Adds Wi-Fi, chiclet keyboard and slider control panel.
- E100 – Has a 10-inch screen.
APCmag also reports that Samsung is working on their own tablet to go head to head with the iPad. Philip Newton, director of Samsung Australia’s IT division is quoted as saying “A lot of companies have played in the MID (mobile Internet device) market and done a very average job and the iPad, which is a glorified MID, just takes that to the next level.”
Samsung plans to release their own tablet by the end of this year. Early reports indicate that it may have an Atom processor, IO ports and much more functionality than the iPad.
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Samsung eReader to Connect with Barnes & Noble eBookstore no comments
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.
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Samsung Releases New eBook Reader in South Korea no comments
Developed under the working title of Papyrus, but now known as the SNE-50K, Samsung has released its new ereader. Smaller than the Kindle 2 with a screen size of only 5 inches, the SNE-50K has a screen resolution of 600 x 800 pixels. It also comes with 512 mb of internal memory.
At launch there are only 2,500 e-books available through Kyobo Bookstore, Samsung’s collaborator on the device. The SNE-50K may move to markets in other countries next year. To read more and to see pictures visit Crave.
£149.00
£109
