Archive for the ‘velocity micro cruz reader storypad’ tag
eReader & Tablet News 8/21/2010 no comments
Another busy week for ereaders and tablets and all things related. Some of the things I didn’t get to cover elsewhere:
The shipping date for new orders of the latest
generation Kindle 3 has been pushed back again. If you place an order now, your Kindle 3 will be shipping on September 17.
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Overheard at a Kobo company party (via eBooknewser) – the Kobo ereader is rumored to have another price cut coming by Christmas and will be reduced to $99.
Although Barnes & Noble is sometimes credited with starting the brief ebook reader price war that resulted in $139 Kindles and $149 NOOKs, Kobo actually lit the fuse when they released their eReader for $149 – as has been noted by Nate over at The Digital Reader and proudly proclaimed by Kobo itself.
So will this start a new round of price slashing? Not likely. At its current price of $149, the Kobo eReader is too high when compared to the wireless only versions of the Kindle and NOOK as it is a more basic ereader with less features and is based on older hardware. It should be priced at $99 now.
Kobo has also just announced a new way to win a free Kobo eReader. All you need to do for a chance to win one of three eReaders is to follow @Kobo on Twitter. This contest will end on August 30, 2010. All the details and fine print that you could possibly want can be had at Kobo.com.
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Digitimes is reporting that Qualcomm is going to set up a production facility for its Mirasol color displays at the Central Taiwan Science Park in Longtan, Taiwan. Digitimes says that volume production of the 5.7-inch screen that Mirasol has been sampling should begin in early 2012.
Excuse me, but what about the press release from Mirasol dated June 6, 2009, in which Mirasol said that a dedicated fabrication plant built in collaboration with Foxlink and at the same location had commenced operations.
I guess that earlier facility must have only been for making the samples.
If Mirasol is not going to have their color display ready until 2012 I think we can count them out of being used in the first color ereaders. Actually, isn’t the world supposed to end in 2012? We may none of us live long enough to see an actual Mirasol display in an actual product!
E Ink Holdings now appears likely to hold the distinction of being the first color epaper. Hanvon has already been reported as readying an ereader using a color E Ink display for release later this year. Amazon, are you really going to sit by and let Hanvon beat you to market with a color ereader?
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Velocity Micro has the Cruz Reader up for pre-order at its website with an expected shipping date of early September. The Cruz tablet is also available to pre-order and will ship in late September. The Storypad children’s ereader does not yet have a pre-order option, and is still shown as “coming soon.”
The Cruz Reader is available for pre-order at Fry’s, Neweggand Borders; the Cruz Tablet is available at Borders.
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While I’m not a particular fan of People Magazine, I am a fan of the way in which they are treating their subscribers. Readers who subscribe to the paper edition will now have free access to the digital version on the iPad.
This is something that I think all magazine publishers should offer, or at the very least you should be able to switch from the paper to the digital format if you wish. Apparently this is not only in the hands of the magazine publishers however.
The NYT reports that because Apple is supposed to get a cut of any app sold through iTunes, some rather long negotiations were required before Time Inc., publisher of People, was able to offer the free digital edition on the iPad. Print subscribers will now be able to enter a verification code to receive the People app at no charge. Time reportedly wants to offer the same type of deal for other magazines it publishes.
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At its latest earnings call yesterday, HP announced that it will be releasing both a Windows-based and a Palm WebOS-based tablet. There were rumors a few months ago that HP had killed its Windows 7 tablet.
(via FT Techblog)
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The Scott Pilgrim comic book series by Bryan O’Malley is now available as an iPad and iPhone app. This is actually a reading app for the comics which gives you some free sample content and from which you can purchase the six volumes in the series.
The first five volumes are $6.99 each and the sixth and final volume is $11.99. Volumes you purchase can also be accessed via the comiXology website on your PC or mobile device.
The Scott Pilgrim series became a NYT bestseller and was adapted into a favorably reviewed film starring Michael Cera and directed by Edgar Wright.
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Verizon has announced (via GigaOM) that it will be releasing an app early next year that will allow its FiOS subscribers to watch programming on their iPads. Initially the iPad app will only allow you to watch content within your own home. Verizon is also working on a video-on-demand application that should work across multiple devices.
Meanwhile, HBO has nixed any hopes that it would join the Netflix stable of streaming video partners. Instead it appears that HBO will probably create its own streaming service.
Besides a number of popular series of its own, HBO also owns the exclusive streaming rights to content from Warner Bros., Twentieth Century Fox and Universal. (via eCommerce Times)
