Amazon got the jump on the new Pearl screens from E Ink with the release of the Graphite Kindle DX and the new WiFi-equipped Kindle 3. In fact, that’s one of Amazon’s major selling points: 50% improved contrast! 10:1 contrast ratio! Buy now!

Although we were all expecting Amazon’s next Kindle to have a color screen, the monochrome Pearl screens are a definite improvement over the old, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to go and buy a new Kindle just to get one.

All the major ebook readers on the market, including the Sony Readers and Barnes and Noble Nook, all get their electrophoretic displays from the same manufacturer: E Ink.

So there’s no question that Sony’s new readers and the Nook (or Nook 2) will eventually get the new Pearl screens too. The only question is when.

Judging from past releases, Sony usually announces a new reader in August or September. And Sony’s actions over the past few months of signifigantly lowering the price of all three of their current ebook readers, especially the PRS-600, suggests that this year won’t be any different.

Sony’s PRS-600 hasn’t gone over as well as it could have with the touchscreen causing reflection and lowering the contrast of the text. Sony has lowered the price of it the most, probably because it hasn’t sold as well as the other two units. It recent weeks it has been listed on Amazon for as low as half the price of its initial MSRP of $300.

Given the popularity of 6-inch ebook readers, the PRS-600 is the unit that will most likely see a replacement first. And Sony’s touchscreens could majorly benefit from the new higher contrast screens.

As for Barnes and Noble, they too will want to start getting the new screens in both models of the Nook to counter the edge that Amazon currently holds in that category. The biggest question, though, is will we see a new Nook, a Nook 2, anytime this year?

It doesn’t really seem very likely for B&N to release another 6-inch Nook this year now that they just released the Nook WiFi, but it isn’t out of the realm of possibilities that Barnes and Noble could release a Nook with a larger screen size before the end of the year to compete with the Kindle DX.

With the recent announcements of NookStudy and partnerships with Blackboard, Flat World and others, Barnes and Noble continues to strengthen its position in the higher education market, already having over 600 on-campus retail stores. Given that, it makes a lot of sense for Barnes and Noble to come out with a device designed for textbooks and college students.

Filed under: Nook, Sony | Tags: e ink, ebook reader, pearl | 1 Comment »

Suddenly, the competition for ebook readers in Australia is starting to heat up.

Kogan, an Australian consumer electronics company, has announced the new Kogan ebook reader to take on the Kobo Reader and Amazon Kindle.

At $189 AUD, the Kogan reader costs $10 less than the Kobo and roughly $50 less than the Kindle 2 after price conversion and shipping costs.

The Kogan has a 6-inch E Ink screen with a resolution of 800 x 600 and 16 shades of gray—the exact same as the devices mentioned above.

It comes with 2GB of internal memory and an SD card slot for cards up to 32GB. It runs a Arm 9 Core processor and has a Linux 2.6 operating system. The battery is listed at 10,000 page-turns.

1500 free classic ebooks are included from Project Gutenberg, and the Kogan Reader supports Adobe DRM for purchased ebooks from a number of ebook retailers, including Australian stores like Borders and eBooks.com.

According to the Kogan website, the device supports an impressive array of formats: PDF, CHM, EPUB, TXT, HTM, HTML, RTF, PDB, DJVU, DJV, IW44, IW4, FB2, OEB, PRC, MOBI, TCR, OPF, JPG, GIF, BMP, PNG, TIFF, and MP3.

Six languages are supported as well: English, Italian, French, Russian, Dutch, and German.

The device comes with a leather carrying case, earphones, USB cable, and charger.

Filed under: New eBook Readers | Tags: ebook reader, ereader, kogan | 2 Comments »

(Update: The full written review is now finished and is located on this new Augen The Book Review page.)

There’s a new inexpensive color ereader on the market that goes by the name of Augen “The Book” (try to work that into a grammatically correct sentence).

In addition to reading and downloading ebooks, the Augen ebook reader can display videos, images, play music, and browse the web. It has a built-in speaker, headphone jack, QWERTY keyboard, and SD card slot. Here’s a full rundown of the Augen’s specs on this earlier blog post.

While the device is still listed as pre-order on websites like JR.com for $129, I was able to find one at a local K-Mart store this morning for $89 (thanks for the tip, Grace).

Here are my first impressions of the Augen ebook reader:

The TFT LCD Display

While it has a 7-inch screen like the Pandigital Novel, the Augen ebook has a much narrower screen because it is has a resolution of 800 x 480 instead of 800 x 600 like the Novel. The actual screen size is about 6″ x 3.4″. And in case it isn’t obvious, the Augen does not have a touchscreen.

The color and quality of images and videos are both fairly decent given the price of the device, and the screen isn’t nearly as reflective as most LCD displays. The font for menus and DRM-free ebooks is exceptionally bold, dark, and defined. Outside in the bright light though, the display is barely legible.

eBooks and PDFs

The Augen ereader supports Adobe EPUB and PDF, TXT, HTML, CHM, RTF, FB2, and MOBI/PRC text formats. Non-DRM ebooks have options for changing font type, line spacing, margins, and alignment. Ebooks can also be read aloud with the text-to-speech feature. Surprisingly, TTS also worked on some PDFs that I tried.

DRM ebooks on the other hand have less options for customizations. There are no options for changing font type, adjusting line height, margins, or anything like that. And for some annoying reason there are huge margins when viewing in landscape mode.

Of the PDFs I tested, none displayed that great. The zoom settings are hit or miss and there is no re-flow. Viewing them in landscape mode works decent, but the G-sensor doesn’t automatically rotate PDFs for some reason; you have to go in and set it to the highest zoom level. Also, large PDFs take forever to load and page-turns don’t seem to work all the time.

The weirdest thing about the Augen is that it has a keyboard and yet there is no option for adding notes to ebooks. No highlights or dictionary either. There is a notepad feature that can create, import, and export TXT files, but it is a separate app from reading.

Hands-on Video Review

Filed under: Reviews | Tags: augen, ebook reader, ereader, the book | 32 Comments »

Since my local Borders stores all seem to be anti-Kobo Reader, I decided to check Walmart.com to see if they’ve started carrying it since Walmarts in Canada do.

No such luck. But I did find that Walmart.com is now selling 4 Hanvon Wisereaders, and the prices are lower than expected: $228 for the touchscreen model and $158 for the non-touchscreen. Both come in black or white, have 5-inch E Ink screens, and both are priced lower than anywhere else I’ve seen.

Hanvon eReaders are out of China. In fact, Hanvon is the #1 ebook reader brand in China.

The touchscreen model uses a stylus for on-screen note-taking, highlighting, navigation, etc., and it has a unique text recognition feature that can convert freehand writing into digital text. And the non-touch model is one of a few ebook readers to support OpenInkpot, an open source ebook reader firmware with many customizable features.

Both models come with 512MB of internal memory and support SD cards up to 32GB.

Both support the following formats: Adobe EPUB and PDF, TXT, HTXT, HTML, and DOC. And the touchscreen model supports audio playback for MP3, WAV, and WMA files.

Earlier this year at CES, Hanvon announced that they would be introducing a line of new ereaders specifically for the US market this year, but nothing so far. The ones Walmart is selling have been out for quite a while now.

Filed under: News, Sales and Discounts | Tags: ebook reader, hanvon, wisereader | No Comments »

Today Don Johnston, a company designed to help students with unique learning disabilities use specialized technology and resources to maximize learning, announced the Read:OutLoud University Edition eBook Reader.

Here’s some of the key details from the press release:

The Read:OutLoud University Edition ereader comes at a time when government and disability advocates are urging equitable and timely access to curriculum for students with disabilities. This technology will read the widest range of eBook formats, including RTF, TXT, XML and HTML files, open-source content and Bookshare files.

The software will open DAISY 3.0 and PDF files without conversion. Students will enjoy the quality text-to-speech and study tools, such as highlighters, smart bookmarks, direct links to Google’s online dictionary and a bibliographer to cite sources in both APA and MLA styles. Members of Bookshare will have one-click access to 72,000 accessible books, journals and periodicals.

Don Johnston also sells the Intel Reader for the blind and dyslexic that can read aloud pictures of printed text, which we reported on last month.

Visit the Don Johnston website for more information about the Read:OutLoud University Edition eBook Reader. And here’s a 5 minute video demo.

Filed under: News | Tags: ebook reader | 1 Comment »

Some of the smaller companies in the growing ereader field are starting to thin out. The next to go is the Cool-er ebook reader by Interead.

It has been confirmed that Interead has been put into liquidation as of June 8th, according to a petition submitted to the Liverpool District Court in late March by Interead’s PR firm, Beam Agency.

The Cool-er was launched just last year, with a primary focus on the UK market—they sold to a number of other countries as well. The Cool-er was a colorfully rebranded version of the Netronix EB600, the same device as the Kobo eReader and many others. It came in several colors and was marketed as an iPod for books.

The Cool-er website is still up, but the ereaders are listed as out of stock and have been for a while.

Interead also launched an ebook store for the Cool-er with ridiculously high prices compared to main-stream ebooks stores; that certainly didn’t help matters any.

According to customers who bought the Cool-er, the device had a lot of problems and Interead’s customer service was lacking. One annoyed customer, Dean Johnston, was nice enough to send in his thoughts about the Cool-er and Interead’s customer service earlier this year with this article, Cooler E-Reader – Disappointing Quality and Support.

Since then, a number of people have left comments sharing similar stories about the Cool-er. Some people have sent their device in for repair and have never gotten it or their money back! That’s certainly no way to run a company.

Via: Teleread and The Book Seller

Filed under: News | Tags: cool-er, ebook reader, interead | No Comments »

A new ereader has just been spotted for pre-order in the UK for £99, the Sovos SVEBK5B color ereader.

The Sovos ebook reader is one of several new multipurpose devices that uses an LCD screen instead of electronic paper. The benefits of these types of ereaders is that they can display color images and play videos, but have considerably worse battery life than tradition ereaders and aren’t easy to read in bright light.

This particular device appears similar to the DreamBook W95 eBook that we reported on earlier in the week. Like the DreamBook, it has a 5-inch TFT screen with a pixel resolution of 800 x 480. The battery will last about 30 hours for music and 7 hours for ebook reading.

The Sovos ebook reader supports ebooks with DRM (it doesn’t specify but it’s probably Adobe DRM) as well as the following ebook formats: PDF, TXT, HTML, FB2, and PDB. For images it supports JPG and BMP. Music: MP3, WMA, APE, FLAC and AAC formats. Video: MP4, MPEG2, and DivX.

The device measures 149mm x 104mm x 10.6mm. It has a built-in speaker and standard 3.5mm headphone jack. There’s 1GB of integral storage, an SD card slot, and a USB port for transferring files.

The Sovos ereader is available for pre-order from Amazon UK and Play.com for £99 with free shipping. The expected ship date is July 19th, 2010.

Filed under: New eBook Readers | Tags: ebook reader, savos, savos svebk5b | 2 Comments »

(Update: The full written review for this device is now finished and is located on this new Augen The Book Review page.)

“The Book” has a lot of interesting and advanced features; if everything works as listed on the spec sheet, at $129, this could be a great deal. The only drawback is that the device has a 7-inch LCD (TFT) screen with a pixel resolution of 800 x 480, so it won’t have great battery life like E Ink ereaders—the spec sheet says up to eight hours in reading mode, 4-6 using other applications.

The Augen ebook reader is being marketed as an ereader, video player, and word processor rolled into one. It has Wi-Fi built-in, a full web browser, an open-source SDK, and supports Adobe DRM. It comes with a leather cover, 2GB of internal memory, and has an SD card slot for cards up to 32GB.

Here’s a look at the owners manual for the Augen ebook reader, via The Shopping Channel.

Interestingly, the manual insinuates that the device comes with Calibre on an install disc to use for managing your ebook library.

Augen “The Book” Specs

• Screen: 7″ diagonal 800 x 480 pixels color TFT.
• Built-in 802.11 b/g Wi-Fi.
• Web browser.
• CPU: Ingenic 4755, Arm9 400 Mhz.
• OS: Linux 2.6.24.
• Open-source SDK.
• 2 GB internal memory, SD card slot up to 32 GB.
• Full QWERTY keyboard.
• Includes WordPad for note-taking and text editing.
• Text-to-speech supported.
• Portrait and landscape modes.
• Built-in speaker and headphone jack.
• Comes with leather case.
• Dimensions: 8.89” x 5.12” x 0.51”.
• Weight: 10 ounces.
• Comes with 150 free classic ebooks.
• Text formats: Adobe EPUB and PDF, TXT, HTML, CHM, RTF, FB2, and MOBI/PRC.
• Image formats: JPG, BMP, GIF, and PNG.
• Audio formats: MP3, WMA, FLAC, and AAC.
• Video formats: WMV and MP4.

Filed under: New eBook Readers | Tags: augen, ebook reader, the book | 30 Comments »

As part of Toshiba’s 25th Anniversary of “Laptop Innovation”, they recently announced the Libretto W100, a dual screen mobile PC with an ebook reading twist.

So is this Toshiba’s jump into the ereader market? Hardly. But they do list ebook reading as one of the Libretto’s features and even demo it as an ebook reader in the video below (just don’t hurt yourself laughing at the music). The ebook part of the demo is at the 37 second mark on the video.

The Libretto runs Windows 7 Home Premium so it has the whole gambit of ebook reading apps available for it. Its unique dual screen design features two 7-inch screens that when held vertically, the device functions as an ebook reader that displays a double-page spread, as described by Toshiba. They also use the phrase “perfect for ebooks” on the device’s main page.

While that remains to be seen, looking at the specs the device’s main drawback is the battery life. It’s a pathetic 2 hours with the standard battery pack and 4 hours with the “high-capacity” battery pack. Not sure how popular a “ultra-mobile concept PC” is going to be with a battery that doesn’t last any longer than the average laptop.

Here are the specs from the press release for the Toshiba Libretto W100:

• Dual 7.0-inch diagonal multi-touch displays6 (1024 x 600)
• 6-mode virtual keyboard with haptic response
• Windows® 7 Home Premium operating system
• Intel® Pentium® U5400 processor1 (1.2GHz)
• 2GB DDR3 memory2
• 62GB Solid State Drive3
• 1.0 megapixel HD Webcam with Toshiba Face Recognition
• 802.11 b/g/n wireless4
• Bluetooth 2.1+EDR
• MicroSD card slot
• One USB 2.0 port
• TOSHIBA Bulletin Board, ReelTime™ and PC Health Monitor software
• 8-cell battery
• 7.95″ (W) x 4.84″(D) x 1.2″(H)
• 1.8 lbs.5

Another key feature mentioned in the press release is that the multi-touch screens can work independently or together, displaying separate programs or the same page across both screens. The device also has a 3D accelerometer built-in.

The Libretto W100 is slated for a limited release later this August from select retailers and direct from Toshiba at toshibadirect.com.

Update: The Toshiba Libretto W100 is now listed on Amazon.com for a whopping $1100! Doesn’t look like we’ll be doing a review any time soon at that price . . .

Filed under: New eBook Readers, Technology | Tags: ebook reader, libretto w100, toshiba | 1 Comment »

With all the recent ebook reader price-cuts in the United States and Canada, people in the UK are feeling a little left out, especially considering the constant fact that ebook readers are always more expensive in Europe compared to prices in the US.

Compound regional restrictions for ebook rights on top of this, where ebook stores will only sell certain ebooks to certain countries, and you’ve got a recipe for ebook reading disaster.

So I decided to scour the web for some sales on ebook readers in the United Kingdom. These are the best 5 ebook reader deals that I found.

1. Kindle International: Amazon dropping the price on the Kindle 2 to $189 USD now means that it costs about £130, plus shipping and import duties that are an estimated £36-£47.

Amazon now has over 400,000 ebooks in their UK library with most bestsellers and new releases priced between $11.99 and $13.99 with VAT included. They also have a number of international newspapers and magazines.

Kindle UK now has free internet as well, using the Kindle’s basic web browser, so that easily makes it the best overall deal.

2. iRiver Story: Play.com currently has the iRiver Story on sale for £149. The retail is £299 but it usually sells for around £179.

The Story supports Adobe EBUB and PDF for ebooks purchased from UK websites like Foyles, Waterstone’s, and WHSmith. The story also supports TXT, DOC, PPT, XLS, HWP, ZIP, JPG, BMP, GIF, MP3, WMA, and OGG formats for word files, comics, images, and audio.

3. Sony PRS-300: Amazon UK has the rose-colored Sony Pocket for £130. It usually sells for £150-£160. The Pocket Edition is a 5-inch ebook reader with a minimum of features. Check our hands-on review for more details.

4. Elonex 511EB: Waterstone’s has been selling the Elonex 511EB for some time now at £129. It’s well rated at 4.3 out of 5 stars over 36 reviews. It is a 5-inch ebook reader that has a mini keyboard under the screen. The hardware is manufactured by Hanvon, a well-known ebook reader OEM.

5. Sony PRS-600: Play.com has the Sony PRS-600 on sale for £199. The price for the Touch Edition usually hovers between £219 and £229 from most retailers. Check our hands-on review for specs and details on the PRS-600.

Filed under: Sales and Discounts | Tags: ebook reader, uk, uk ebook readers | No Comments »