e-books and e-readers: post here

H

haven

Expedition Leader
The Ars Technica blog has information about Amazon's update to the software running on the Kindle e-readers. Highlights include

-- create "collections" of books to simplify access. For example, new books, books for work, travel books, and so on. A book can be placed in multiple collections.

-- links to social networking sites. The new software will allow you to highlight a passage in the book you're reading, and post a link to the passage along with your comment to Facebook and/or Twitter

-- adds password protection when the Kindle is in sleep mode

-- adds pan and zoom when viewing PDF files

-- adds two more font size options

-- adds the ability to turn on "popular highlights." You'll be able to see the highlights made by a significant number of people who are reading the same text. This is limited only to people at large now. It would be great if they allowed you to build a list of "highlighting friends," such as a group in a school class reading the same text, or a local readers' discussion group.

The new software will be available for download in about two weeks.

http://arstechnica.com/gadgets/news/2010/05/hands-on-kindle-25-firmware-a-cornucopia-of-features.ars
 
H

haven

Expedition Leader
iBookstore open to submission of unpublished works

The iBookstore, Apple's online e-book source, announced that it will accept submissions of previously unpublished materials. This is great news for authors who are having difficulty getting attention from traditional publishers. The policy shows how e-book publishing can threaten the position of editors and publishers as gatekeepers to the dissemination of written material.

There are four requirements for the submission of unpublished works
1. The book must have a valid ISBN number;
2. The book must be submitted in a valid ePub format;
3. The author must have a U.S. tax ID; and
4. The author mush have an iTunes store account.

All of these are easy to get without spending much money. If you don't want to be bothered even with these minimal details, or if you're not a US citizen (see point 3 above) there are companies that act as aggregators of works for publication in the iBookstore.

Here's where to start:
https://itunesconnect.apple.com/WebObjects/iTunesConnect.woa/wo/1.0.0.5.7.7.1
 
H

haven

Expedition Leader
Barnes and Noble has lowered the price of the Nook e-reader to $199. A version of the Nook that has WiFi, but no 3G data service, is priced at $149.

Amazon.com quickly reacted by lowering the price of the Kindle from $259 to $189.

In related news, a company called Kobo promised to ship an e-reader for less than $149. Asus recently showed a new e-reader with a 9 inch screen. Sony's e-reader with 5 inch screen costs $180.

The super-high resolution screen on the new iPhone 4 may make the phone a better tool for e-book consumption.

Now if they would just lower the price of the e-books, too!
 
7wt

7wt

Expedition Leader
I have been thinking about getting one of these for my fiance. What is the better set up, the Nook or the Kindle?
 
nwoods

nwoods

Expedition Leader
I know about a dozen avid readers who love their Kindles (including me). I don't know anyone with a Nook.
 
H

haven

Expedition Leader
Today, Amazon.com announced the Kindle software will now include the ability to access embedded video and audio clips in Kindle e-books -- as long as you are using the Kindle software for iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch.

At this point, owners of the regular Kindle reader are left out. Amazon's announcement made reference to this point by saying that the company would continue to take advantage of technologies offered by third parties.

Only a few titles have embedded audio and video today. It will be interesting to see how e-book authors take advantage of this new feature.
 
H

haven

Expedition Leader
Change continues for the Amazon.com Kindle. This time it's the Kindle DX,
getting a new 9.7" screen that improves contrast, and receiving a price reduction
of $110 to the new price of $379.

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/Wireless-Reading-Graphite-Globally-Generation/dp/B002GYWHSQ/ref=amb_link_353432402_2?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-1&pf_rd_r=0250WPX52QVYMYRKZXYF&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=1268368302&pf_rd_i=507846"]Amazon.com: Kindle DX Wireless Reading Device, Free 3G, 9.7" Display, Graphite, 3G Works…[/ame]
 
H

haven

Expedition Leader
Sony is selling refurbished units of its Reader Pocket Edition for $110 with free shipping. Limit 2 per person. The price when new is $150.

The Reader Pocket Edition has a 5 inch greyscale screen, weighs less than 8 ounces, and supports most popular e-book formats, including

DRM Text : ePub (Adobe DRM protected), PDF (Adobe DRM protected), BBeB Book (PRS DRM protected)

Unsecured Text : ePub, BBeB Book, PDF, TXT, RTF

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...A:552179:10383604:TDIWBgoBCjUAAGXYc-IAAAIk:CJ
 
H

haven

Expedition Leader
Barnes and Noble just announced "Nookstudy," software for eBook reading that is aimed at the higher education market. The idea is for colleges and publishers to look to B&N for lower cost, more portable versions of standard textbooks.

The Nookstudy software runs on any PC or Mac, no special hardware required. The software allows the reader to highlight passages of text and to take notes. Both notes and highlights are searchable.

http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/07/1...books-take-fully-searchable-notes-highlights/

I think there's a greater market for eBooks in primary and secondary education. The cost of buying, tracking, storing, transporting and replacing textbooks is killing the budgets of school districts everywhere. Textbook authors re-write constantly to keep their works up-to-date. But school districts can't afford to replace books in a timely manner. eBooks can be updated much more frequently, and can be managed at lower cost.

Today it's reasonable to assume that a college student owns a computer. It's far less reasonable to assume a 7th grade student has a computer. So B&N's move into higher education seems right. Once the fabled $100 tablet arrives, then it will be more reasonable to use ebooks in secondary, even primary, grade levels.
 
H

haven

Expedition Leader
Barnes and Noble just released an Android version of its Nook e-reader software. Now Android owners can choose between e-readers produced by B&N, Amazon (Kindle), Kobo, and Borders (which is a version of Kobo) for their mobile devices.
 
6Pins

6Pins

Adventurer
haven said:
Barnes and Noble just announced "Nookstudy," software for eBook reading that is aimed at the higher education market. The idea is for colleges and publishers to look to B&N for lower cost, more portable versions of standard textbooks.

The Nookstudy software runs on any PC or Mac, no special hardware required. The software allows the reader to highlight passages of text and to take notes. Both notes and highlights are searchable.

http://www.crunchgear.com/2010/07/1...books-take-fully-searchable-notes-highlights/

I think there's a greater market for eBooks in primary and secondary education. The cost of buying, tracking, storing, transporting and replacing textbooks is killing the budgets of school districts everywhere. Textbook authors re-write constantly to keep their works up-to-date. But school districts can't afford to replace books in a timely manner. eBooks can be updated much more frequently, and can be managed at lower cost.

Today it's reasonable to assume that a college student owns a computer. It's far less reasonable to assume a 7th grade student has a computer. So B&N's move into higher education seems right. Once the fabled $100 tablet arrives, then it will be more reasonable to use ebooks in secondary, even primary, grade levels.
Click to expand...

They use textbooks now? Here in Virginia, elementary and middle-school kids use something called "interactive notebooks", which simply means glorified handouts placed in a binder. I don't think any of my kids have ever brought home a text book like I remember having too.

I would agree that the education marked is the next trend for these tablet pc/e-book reader devices. My older son is dyslexic and the big advantage for him is that he can't see how big a book is and he can adjust the print size to accommodate his needs.
 
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