Amazon’s own e-book reader won’t be able to play back video or audio embedded in e-books the way the iPod touch, iPhone, iPad and I’m presuming the Mac and PC versions can. But it probably doesn’t matter too much to Amazon, who stands to make a killing on the books themselves, anyhow. More »
Rumors about Barnes & Noble’s plans to develop an eReader have been confirmed in a company statement that launches a new e-Bookstore and outlines a partnership with Plastic Logic to develop an eReader for an early 2010 launch. More »
Boy Genius just unveiled shots of what is very likely the Kindle 2. Notice the follow-up to the snowspeeder-like original Amazon e-book reader is more rounded, more early-iPod in its proportions, but still white with the same basic screen. The cool sparkly LCD status bar seems to be gone, a joystick has replaced the clickwheel, and the other buttons are smaller for fewer accidental page turns. No word on the availability of this baby, of course. As you might expect, Boy Genius has quite a few more pictures, and more details too, so feel free to drop on over there to have a look. We’ll be here when you’re ready to comment. [BGR]
We’ve been following Plastic Logic’s potential Kindle-killing e-reader device this week, and the guys over at TGDaily are adding to the intrigue with video of it. Speaking with a company rep, they found out that the device is less than 7mm thin and charges/connects to PCs with a miniUSB connector.
The e-book reader battle has taken the inevitable turn towards the competitive pricing front with the announcement that Astak is releasing the “Mentor” reader priced under US$200 for the base 5-inch model. There will also be a 6 and a 9.7-inch version, but all will include 128MB RAM (expandable to 4GB with SD card), a stylus touchscreen, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi , an MP3 player and a Linux or Windows CE based OS.
Apparently 43% of college students identify smell as the thing they most love about books. CaféScribe have taken this odd statistic and run with it, creating the world’s first smelly e-book. More »
