eBook
With the flood of ebook readers hitting the market over the past year, not to mention the success of Apple’s iPad, any new offering needs to differentiate itself if it is going to survive. That’s exactly what Aiptek’s Story Book inColor has done because, instead of aiming at the overcrowded adult market, it has focused on the children’s book market and in doing so, has the entire market to itself. Read More
Sometimes it pays to sit back a while and wait to see what everyone else has to offer before revealing your own hand. But at this late stage, what could any manufacturer possibly bring to the e-Reader table? Well, in addition to offering wireless connectivity, access to a vast library of eBook content, a QWERTY keyboard and a 6 inch e-Ink display, the LumiRead e-Reader from Acer also allows users to scan ISBN codes on actual books to help quickly locate their digital counterparts. Read More
Viewsonic has thrown two new products into the e-reader ring with the release of the 6-inch VEB620 and VEB625. Both e-readers include 800X600 resolution, E-ink monochrome displays, 1.5 GB of internal memory and a G-Sensor for orientation while the VEB625 gets a touch screen and WiFi connectivity. Read More
Gizmag met with PlasticLogic, the makers of the QUE ProReader eBook reader/tablet - one of the most versatile and powerful eReaders to hit the market. The Que ProReader measures the size of standard piece of office paper (8.5 x 11 inches) and focuses on the business professional. Though not designed to replace your laptop or smartphone, it is designed to make paper redundant. Already there are more than 1 million pieces of online content that can be downloaded and viewed on the device. Plus you can print from your computer to the QUE Pro to carry your personal documents with you, or use it as a back-up device. Connectivity options abound with built-in WiFi, 3G and Bluetooth. Read More
Dutch electronics company Liquavista has announced that it will be working with Texas Instruments to integrate its unique electrowetting display into TI’s new eBook platform. It’s part of a bigger plan to incorporate the technology into a variety of products. “Liquavista’s aim is to make its electrowetting display technology available as broadly as possible to end-consumers via a wide range of products” says Liquavista CEO Guy Demuynck. So, just what is electrowetting? If Liquavista is to be believed, it’s a technology with all the benefits of LCD, but with up to four times the optical performance. Read More
When is an eBook reader not merely an eBook reader? When it’s an enTourage eDGE reader. Unveiled this week at CES the clamshell designed reader is billed as the world’s first dualbook, with a 9.7” black and white E-ink screen on the one side and 10.1” LCD color touchscreen on the other. Along with 4GB of internal memory and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth capability, the unit functions as a mini-netbook, notepad and audio/video recorder. Read More
There’s been a definite buzz around eBooks and eBook readers in recent times, and despite Asus challenging the price point last year we’re yet to see what we’d guess to be an affordable enough solution to break the mass-market. There are some pretty tidy devices on the shelves though, with Amazon’s Kindle proving popular enough to ‘go global’ last October, a move that has now been repeated with the spacious Kindle DX. Read More
Amazon is perhaps the best placed to really push the eBook reader as a global solution and with recent announcements confirming that local libraries will be offering eBook rentals there seems to be plenty going on in this area to warrant further support. To this end, Amazon has officially released its Kindle software for the PC, allowing users to purchase, download and read hundreds of thousands of books from the official store. Read More
It would come as no surprise to hear that your typical local library isn’t exactly a hive of activity these days. The availability of information online and swathes of technology capable of distracting us during quieter times has seen memberships declining. But a scheme designed to embrace modern alternatives to the weighty tome could breathe new life back into the service. Taking a leaf from Amazon’s book, if you’ll pardon the pun, select local libraries in the UK are now subsidizing conventional methods by offering eBook rentals online. Read More
Plastic Logic has flagged the unveiling of its business user focused QUE proReader eReader at CES next January. The company says the eReader market to date has focused on leisure reading devices and casual users, so the QUE is designed for the busy executive who wants to access his or her business media in an electronic easy-to-read format. What this amounts too is an eReader roughly the same size as an 8.5 x 11-inch pad of paper, less than 1/3 inch thick, weighing less than many periodicals and boasting the largest touchscreen in the industry. Read More
