Portable eBook Readers

Posts Tagged ‘Wi-Fi’

E-book readers and e-books have been hot topics for some time now. In 2009, the market for e-book readers rocketed and one of the most important driving factors was the release of the Amazon Kindle in February of that year. Amazon followed up with the launch of the large format Kindle DX in the summer of 2009 and, in the second half of the year, manufacturers of personal electronics were lining up to release their own e-book readers and secure a share of the emerging market.

It’s a clear indication of just how influential Amazon were – and remain – to the development of the market that almost every new reader announced was instantly christened the “Kindle Killer”. The Kindle reader was, without a doubt, the industry standard that had to be matched and then beaten.

However, there was nothing to suggest that any new reader which would offer serious competition to the Kindle was anywhere in sight. It wasn’t until the launch of the Apple iPad – a very different device – that there was any serious threat to the Kindle’s dominance. Even then, the death of the Kindle as a result of consumers turning to the iPad just doesn’t seem to have materialized. Shortly after the release of the upgraded third generation Kindle in August 2010 Amazon, for the umpteenth time it seems, had sold out of the devices and prospective customers faced a wait of several weeks before their new readers could be shipped.

Of course, the fact that the latest upgrades were accompanied by a further price cut might go some way to explaining the resurgence in the popularity of the Kindle. Amazon’s new Wi-Fi only Kindle was priced at just $ 139. If you consider that the Kindle 2.0 was selling for $ 359 at its February 2009 launch, that’s a very significant price reduction. It takes the Kindle – and e-book readers in general – much nearer to the sub $ 100 impulse buying price range for personal electronic devices. If this was prompted, or possibly hastened, by the release of the iPad is debatable, but ultimately irrelevant. The price reduction would have happened anyway, but there is still a lot of scope for further price cuts – and probably in the not too distant future.

However, whilst Amazon and Apple may be enjoying a good deal of success, the same cannot be said for other e-book reader manufacturers. Several planned e-book readers have either been postponed or cancelled all together. The Plastic Logic Que reader, for example, is pretty well dead in the water. The well established Dutch company Irex went bankrupt when they ran out of cash following poor US sales returns for their Irex reader. Sprint and Hearst’s planned Skiff has been cancelled.

Are we heading towards a polarised market with Amazon dominating the low cost “pure” e-book reader sector and Apple cleaning up in the more expensive tablet computer that sometimes serves as an e-book reader market? There’s a large gap in the prices of the Kindle and the iPad. Is there sufficient space between the two devices, in terms of both specification and price levels, to allow new players to enter the market?

Recently Amazon advised that sales of Kindle books have overtaken the sales of hard cover books. It seems highly probable that e-book sales will catch up with and eventually overtake paperback sales – and probably in the not too distant future. It looks like e-books may well be the future of reading, but just what type of device will you choose to read them on?

Discover the Amazon Kindle for yourself and view the wide range of Kindle accessories available to help you customise your reader.

Related iPad and Kindle article

• Another Way to Look at the iPad vs. Kindle Debate (pogue.blogs.nytimes.com)

It’s been a long time coming – or at least that’s how it feels – but Amazon has finally unveiled its new, upgraded and enhanced Kindle electronic reader. Christened the third generation Kindle by Amazon – but more likely to be known as the Kindle 3 – there are a variety of improvements.

The new features of the Kindle 3 seem likely to press all the right buttons for e-book reader fans. It keeps the same 6″ e-ink technology screen, but the display’s contrast has been improved by 50%, which should make reading even better. Page turn speed, already good in the Kindle 2.0, has been made 20% faster.

The overall dimensions of the reader are shrunk by 21% and the weight is a mere 8.7 ozs – 15% lighter. With the Wi-Fi turned off, the battery will now last for a month – even with the Wi-Fi on, a 10 day life is achievable. On board storage capacity has been increased from 2 to 4 GB, enough for approximately 3,500 books. So the new Kindle is lighter, smaller, easier to read, has an extended battery life and allows users to carry a small personal library with them wherever they go. What more could you ask for from a mobile reader?

For many, a color screen would have been one item on their wish list. However, whilst Amazon have been working on a color e-ink technology display, it is not ready for commercial release at the moment. Perhaps this might be incorporated in the next Kindle 4 release. There is no SD slot available for memory expansion, something which some users may also have liked to see. Nevertheless, considering that the memory capacity is now at 4GB, most people won’t suffer too greatly as a consequence of this.

In addition to the various upgrades, Amazon have reduced the price and introduced a new Wi-Fi only model for those who don’t see the need for a 3G connection. Just $ 139 will get you the new entry level Wi-Fi only model, with the 3G plus Wi-Fi version available for$ 189. The new Kindle 3 now comes in graphite, the same as the new DX model, in addition to the original white color.

Amazon has also opened a dedicated UK Kindle store on their British website. UK customers will no longer need to get their Kindles shipped from the States. To begin with the UK Kindle store will have 400,000 Kindle books available. It seems reasonable to suppose that Amazon may consider opening other dedicated Kindle stores for its other “local” websites in France, Germany etc. in the future.

The Kindle 3 seems to be in high demand. Potential customers currently face a 4 week wait before their readers are shipped. It does start to look as if reports of the Kindle’s imminent demise at the hands of Apple’s iPad were somewhat premature. The new upgrades, the lower prices and the fact that there is no monthly payment for connectivity, will be very appealing to many consumers. It looks as though the launch of Amazon’s new Kindle 3 may serve as a timely reminder of just how influential the company is, and will continue to be, in the world of books in general and e-books in particular.

Learn more about the Amazon Kindle for yourself and view the wide range of Kindle accessories available to help you personalise your reader.

Related Kindle 3 article

• Kindle 3 vs Sony Reader 650 – Thoughts (ireaderreview.com)

Amazon is enjoying great success with its latest third generation Kindle reader right now. An upgrade – which includes a new display with 50% better contrast, a new smaller and lighter body, quicker page turns and a doubling of memory capacity from 2GB to 4GB – accompanied by a price cut and the introduction of an entry level Wi-Fi only model, has seen demand for the Kindle reader really take off.

Currently, the new upgraded Kindles are out of stock and prospective customers face a wait of three to four weeks before any new ones start shipping. Kindle books are now selling more than conventional hard cover editions on a regular basis. It can only be a matter of time before e-books begin to sell more than paperbacks.

Amazon has also launched a dedicated UK Kindle store so that UK customers no longer need to have their Kindles shipped across the Atlantic and can pay for their Kindle purchases in their local currency. It seems reasonable to assume that similar “local” Kindle stores will be opened for other Amazon international websites such as France, Japan, Germany etc. in the relatively near future.

Just at the moment, everything seems to be coming up roses for Amazon. Although many industry analysts predicted that the release of the Apple iPad would sound the death knell for the Kindle, there is little evidence to suggest that this is, in fact, the case. Amazon’s policy of releasing free “apps” to allow Kindle books to be read on a variety of different devices looks to be paying dividends. So, considering what a huge success they have had with their first manufactured product, it’s probably no surprise that Amazon is reported to be considering developing prototypes for consumer gadgets other than the Kindle in their Lab 126 research facility.

Amazon has made no comment on what they may, or may not, be developing, but it has been suggested that they may be looking at mobile phones and music and/or movie players. However, industry watchers suggest that, if Amazon wanted to enter the market with another gadget, then they would need to ensure that they add value rather than simply releasing another piece of personal electronic tech onto the market.

A great deal of the success of the Kindle reader must be attributed to Amazon’s strong association with books and reading in general. The massive choice of Kindle books on offer – more than 630,000 and increasing every day – and the fact that these can be read on so many other devices has been a real feather in Amazon’s cap. Any new gadget that Amazon decided to launch would probably need some similar type of support in order to achieve anything approaching the level of success enjoyed by the Kindle.

Discover the Amazon Kindle for yourself and view the wide range of Kindle accessories available to help you customise and enhance your reader.

Related Amazon Kindle articles

• E-reader donation drive sends Kindle 2s to soldiers in the Middle East (teleread.com)
• Kindle’s Big Flaw (fool.com)

Right now, Amazon is having a busy time of it. They have just announced the upgrade of their massively successful Kindle 2.0 and Kindle DX readers and pre-order rates are very high at the moment. Stock levels of the third generation 6″ Kindle are depleted and consumers are now pre-ordering to get their Kindle shipped, on a first-come-first-served basis, within four to five weeks.

This latest upgrade includes a higher contrast display, more memory, quicker page turns and color choice of graphite or white . The 6″ display version has had its overall dimensions reduced by 21% and is 15% lighter, at 8.7 oz. Amazon has also released an entry level Wi-Fi only model of the 6″ display Kindle for customers who do not foresee the need for a 3G connection.

All of this is accompanied by a price drop. The 6″ Kindle version Wi-Fi only model retails at $ 139, with the 3G plus Wi-Fi model on sale for $ 189. The large format Kindle DX model is now available for $ 379. These represent significant price reductions over the Kindle 2.0 launch $ 359 price and the recent DX model price of $ 489.

A great deal has been made of the impact of the Apple iPad on Kindle reader sales. It seems likely that the launch of the Apple iPad has prompted, or at least hastened, the latest round of e-book reader price reductions. However, the above prices are considerably lower than the entry level iPad price and, for a lot of customers, the fact that 3G is available with no monthly fee will be seen as a very positive aspect of the Kindle price plan.

As well as the upgrades to the hardware and the price reductions, a dedicated UK Kindle store will be launched for the first time. Consumers in the UK will no longer require to have their Kindles shipped across the Atlantic. The UK Kindle store launches in August 2010 and will, in the first instance, have around 400,000 Kindle books available. It seems probable that other Amazon websites could have their own Kindle stores soon and that customers will be able to purchase their Kindles locally.

The recent price drop in the e-book reader market may be an indication that the market, although still relatively young, is maturing. Lower hardware prices will shift the emphasis from hardware sales towards the sale of the e-books themselves. Amazon, who have an interest in the sales of both hardware and books may be better placed than companies who are primarily concerned with hardware manufacture and sales. Whatever the future brings, and it seems likely that the future of reading will have a strong digital element, Amazon seem likely to remain a very influential player in the development of the market.

Check out the Amazon Kindle for yourself and view the wide range of Kindle accessories available to help you personalise your reader.

Related Amazon Kindle 3 article

• Interesting Kindle 3, eReader updates and news (ireaderreview.com)

Apple iPad USB Cable the Second to Melt
It’s been eight days since we reported that a defective USB cable, which connected to the iPhone 4, got so hot that it actually caught on fire, and managed to burn the owner. While the general assumption was that these USB cables couldn’t produce enough power to do such a thing, hence the defective part, we’re now faced with a second incident. But, the truth is, we’re still chalking this up to a …
Read more on SlashGear

Apple iPad OS Update Fixes Wi-Fi, Adds Bing
Apple’s iOS 3.2.1 patch for the iPad isn’t earth-shattering, but it does solve a few pesky problems. Apple – Wi-Fi – IPhone OS – IPad – IPhone
Read more on PC World

Apple iPad receives update to improve WiFi connectivity
Apple has released an update for iPad users, iOS 3.2.1, that will remedy some minor bugs as well as improve overall WiFi connectivity on the device. Read the full story here.
Read more on Mobile Burn

Related Apple article

• Top 5 Apple iPhone 4 Press Conference Predictions (pcworld.com)

The iLiad Reader from iRex Technologies in the Netherlands is the most expensive portable ebook reader in the market but it has a useful stylus for freehand note taking and also Wi-Fi connectivity.

The iLiad reader from iRex was introduced in July 2006 and is currently in its second edition, the iLiad 2nd edition. The company also has a larger ebook reader with a 10.2 inch display called the iRex Digital Reader 1000S and a cheaper version without Wi-Fi and with a 8.1 inch display called the iLiad Book Edition.

iLiad eBook Reader Features

The iLiad Reader is not as portable as some of the 5 or 6 inch ebook readers on the market as it has an 8.1 inch diagonal display and weighs 15.3 ounces. It is also the most expensive ebook reader on the market with a current price of close to $700.

The iLiad ebook reader uses an e-ink display with Vizplex Imaging Film manufactured by E Ink Corporation. The display is the nearest thing to reading from paper and ink that you will find; some have said that it is better than all of the competition. You can scale and zoom the display to see small text and you can read in landscape or portrait orientation.

Reading and Writing on the iLiad Reader

One feature that sets the iLiad Reader apart from the competition is the ability to write in freehand. Many people like to take notes when reading and so scribble notes in the margin, or even doodles and drawings. Now it is also possible to do this on a portable ebook reader.

The iRex reader has an integrated Wacom Penabled technology so you can use the stylus to underline text, make notes, or write comments in documents. You can also do crossword or Sudoku puzzles or doodles and drawings. You also use the stylus to navigate through the menus and your documents.

The reader comes with templates for graph paper, lined paper, and musical paper or you can upload any jpg or png that you like to use as a templete. Another handy feature is the ability to vary the width of the ink. The original template is always saved without annotations and a separate file is saved with your notes but it is difficult to save the version with your notes to your PC – you can download software from iLiad which has limitations or you can buy handwriting recognition software.

Unique Features of the iLiad eBook Reader

Although the iLiad reader has all the normal features shared by many other readers, there a few nice features that set the iLiad apart. You have many more options for getting content into the device: USB, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, SD card, Compact Flash card, MMC memory cards, or a CF card.

While most ebook readers use buttons for page turning which require a bit too much force, the iLiad reader uses a convenient “flipbar.” The flipbar is located on the left side of the screen and can turn pages backwards or forwards. It requires hardly any force to operate, which is an important feature as page turning is the most used button / flipbar and will make for a better reading experience.

When you create a free MyiRex account, you will be able to download and share your documents with friends and colleagues. Also, each account gives you free access to the latest software releases which will make your iLiad run more smoothly, keep it bug-free, and add new features and functionalities to your iLiad.

You can sync your iLiad seamlessly with your computer with the iLiad Companion Software. The iLiad Companion software brings your iLiad and computer together using the built-in wireless capability. You can automatically synchronize your books, newspapers, RSS feeds and documents with your iLiad.

Technical Specifications

Display - 8.1-inch diagonal E-Paper Display, 768 x 1024 pixels resolution, 160 dpi, 16 levels of grey-scale, Touch sensor input, Integrated Wacom Penabled sensor board and Wacom Slim Pen Stylus

Processor and Memory – Intel 400MHz XScale processor, 64 MB RAM
Storage and Expansion – 256MB internal flash, Expandable with up to 4 Gigabyte with USB, MMC or CF cards

Power and Battery – Built-in rechargeable Lithium Ion battery with 12 hour charge, 3 hour charging time

Audio – Built-in stereo speakers, stereo headphone mini-jack

Communication - Built-in Wi-Fi 802.11B/G wireless networking, Optional external 10/100MB Ethernet networking via Travel hub

Size and Weight – 217mm (8.5 inch) x 155mm (6.1 inch) x 16mm (0.63 inch), 435 grams (15.3 ounce)

Supported Formats – PDF / HTML / TXT / JPG / BMP/ PNG / PRC (Mobipocket)

Summary

So, is the iRex iLiad 2nd Edition ebook reader for you? If you just want a portable ebook reader to read the latest bestselling novel then I don’t think you will be able to justify the price. But if you want to use it to read and take notes on technical papers, music sheets, business memos, or use a lot of PDF documents with the ability to make annotations and comments and pass them on to a colleague, then the iLiad ebook reader might be for you.

The Good Features of the iLiad Reader

• Wi-Fi capability, USB, and ethernet connectivity
• An excellent screen and the ability to make free-hand notes, doodles, annotations
• Sync RSS feeds to the iLiad
• The many methods to add content through USB, Wi-Fi, Ethernet, SD card, Compact Flash card, MMC memory cards, and CF card
• Runs a Linux operating system that allows third-party applications to be created and run on the iLiad

The Bad Features of the iLiad Reader

• The high price
• Some people complain of mediocre support
• Limited ebook content as the iLiad supports only Mobipocket files – 50,000 books compared to the hundreds of thousands available from Sony or Amazon