Endless Ideas BeBook 2

Performs at CeBIT in March 2009, BeBook 2 is an e-book from Endless Ideas BV. Although the software for the device is not yet complete, many new elements in comparison with the original BeBook were known and demonstrated, including WiFi and 3G WWAN, 16 shades of gray, a touch screen and functions like a thin form factor is generally the unit from the battery from life. Availability and pricing were not disclosed, but that is planned in Q2 and Q3 the 2009th


Pros

* There are places in which competitors such as Kindle 2 are not
* 3G
* Touch screen functionality
* WiFi
* A vast improvement over the original provision

Cons

* The interface is not as intuitive and attractive than those on the Kindle / Kindle 2
* 3G service will cost much more than the Amazon Whispernet
* No qwerty keyboard

Sony Reader PRS-505

The Sony Reader PRS-505 is the upgrade to Sony's first eBook reader the PRS-500 featuring improved hardware specifications and improved software capabilities. The 6" screen uses a new version of the E-Ink technology with a better contrast ratio, faster response time, and support for eight shades of gray instead of four. Furthermore the PRS-505 contains two slots, one for Memory Stick Duo cards, and one for SD Cards.

Features

• 6" EInk screen
• Portrait and landscape modes
• Formats: HTML, Txt, PRC, PalmDoc, PDF, Secured Mobipocket
• 32MB of integrated storage expandable by 12GB through memory cards
• Unprotected MP3 and AAC support

Memory

Transferring content to the reader is accomplished by one of two ways: 1) through Sony's eBook Library software (Windows only), and 2) dragging and dropping directly from your computer. The eBook library software acts as a portal where you can purchase new protected eBooks, and also transfer Word, and other documents to the 505's native format. When connected to your computer through USB, the 505 acts as a USB mass storage device and shows up as an extra drive. If you have memory cards in the slots, then both can show up as separate mass storage drives when connected to your computer.

Organization

Alongside the traditional methods of browsing your books - including by author, by date downloaded - the software in the 505 has additional support for Collections. Collections are custom defined groups of books for easier organization, though only one level of grouping is available with subgroups not possible.

Both unprotected MP3 and unprotected AAC playback are supported. Music controls are built directly in the player's software letting you perform that standard actions such as play, pause and skip tracks. No dedicated music controls are found on the 505's hardware, which means that when you have music playing while reading a book there's no way to control the music.

Regarding the poor display of pdfs, various workarounds have been proposed. One is an 'any2lrf' converter, found as part of a library called libprs500

Pros

• Simple and sleek design
• USB mass storage mode works with all operating systems
• Huge storage capabilities (up to 12GB total)
• Excellent text reproduction
• PDF support
• Improved button placement
• Cheaper than other available eBook readers
• Can now group collections on SD
• very easy to read, in the right light
• No back light (no glare, sharply increased battery life)
• Helpful user community
• Now supports ePub (open eBook format)

Cons

• Software still inneficient for large collection
• Can't control music while reading
• Formatting of RTF files can be slow
• Page transition is annoying

Amazon Kindle DX

The Kindle DX from Amazon is the most recent addition to Amazon's popular line of eBook Reader devices. Introduced in May 2009, the Kindle DX is the largest Kindle available with a screen size of 9.7". Most of the technology in the Kindle DX is found in the previous Kindle 2 with the main differences coming in the size of the display, and the size of the internal memory clocking in at 4GB (3.3GB usable). Other differences include native PDF support (other Kindles require conversion) and auto-rotation from portrait to landscape. The Kindle DX retains the same WhisperNet wireless technology as the Kindle 2 offering free wireless access for book downloads.

Features

• 9.7" diagonal E-Ink display
• 1200x824 resolution, with 16 shades of gray
• weights 18.9 ounces
• Dimensions: 10.4" x 7.2" x 0.38"
• 4GB of memory
• Battery
  • 4 days with wireless turned on
  • 2 weeks with wireless off
  • 4 hours for full charge
• Ports: USB2.0, 3.5mm headphone
• Built-in stereo speakers
• Text-to-Speach technology
• Formats
  • E-Book: Kindle (AZW), Mobi
  • Text: PDF, TXT, DOC, HTML, DOC, RTF
  • Audio: Audible, MP3
  • Images: JPEG, GIF, PNG

WhisperNet - One of the biggest selling points of the Kindle is the product's stand-alone nature. Since it has a 3G wireless receiver built-in, you can browse the book store, download and purchase books and download other content such as blogs and websites without ever connecting it to your computer. For a price you can add e-mail support which lets you e-mail content to your Kindle where it'll be automatically downloaded over the wireless connection. However, the WhisperNet technology works only in the United States, if you take the Kindle abroad the wireless functions are useless.

Automatic Backup - Amazon stores and logs all the books you've purchased from their online store, meaning you can redownload any books for free. Furthermore, Amazon's online services keep track of your bookmarks, annotations, and last page read.

Text Books and Newspapers - Amazon has established partnerships with leading textbook and newspaper publishers to offer digital versions of their publications. Newspapers may be offered at a reduced price with a long-term subscription. Prices for textbooks are still unknown.

Pros

• large screen is more versatile
• retains slim form-factor of previous Kindles
• native PDF support is great
• E-Ink tech is easy on the eyes
• improved internal storage over the Kindle 2 - 2GB to 3.3GB

Cons

• wireless limited to United States
• expensive
• larger and almost double the weight of the Kindle 2

Amazon Kindle

The Amazon Kindle is a wireless eBook reader that allows you to download and read books, newspapers and notable blogs on-the-go. It does not require you to first have the book downloaded on your computer, but instead allows you to buy books directly from the Kindle online store and the book gets downloaded directly to the device in approximately 1 minute. The device does not use WiFi for its internet connection, instead using the cell phone high-speed data network, EVDO. A major bonus is that you don't pay for the wireless access, this is covered by a deal with Amazon and Sprint and accounts for the somewhat inflated Kindle price, although without an additional monthly bill this gets more acceptable.

The Kindle offers two ways to read popular online newspapers (like the New York Times, Wall Street Journal and Washington Post), monthly magazines (like Forbes and Time) and notable blogs (like the Huffington Post, BoingBoing and Slashdot). You can pay a monthly subscription fee and Kindle automatically downloads the full text of the journal or blog without any user intervention for later offline reading. Or you can use the Kindle's built-in web browser to access any web site or blog for free over Sprint's EVDO network. The browser, though limited to black and white, displays images and supports javascript.

You can also put e-books and other documents of your own on the Kindle. Files can be transferred from a computer directly using an included USB cable or by copying them onto an SD memory card. Kindle can read plain text files but documents in the Microsoft Word, HTML or PDF formats need to be converted. You can convert them yourself for free with the Mobipocket Creator program or you can email a file to Amazon and have them convert it. They will email the file back in a Kindle-compatible format. Amazon originally said it would charge 10 cents for sending a converted file directly to a Kindle via the wireless connection, but it is not doing so. There is no charge for sending a converted file back to your computer. There is one important limitation. The Kindle cannot read, and Amazon will not convert, e-books locked up with any digital rights management format other than the Kindle's. So you cannot read an e-book bought locked with Sony's or Microsoft's DRM.

The Screen

Aside from the added features of the Kindle, the major improvement to the eReader industry in general is the Kindle's screen. Amazon used a patented technology called electronic paper, which provides a clear black and white display for easy reading using actual ink. The ink particles are displayed electronically, but don't require a backlight, thus you read the Kindle as you would any other book - with a good source of light by your side. This has obvious benefits such as no glare and the ability to read outside, a major complaint with past eReaders.

Physical information

• Dimensions: 7.5" x 5.3" x 0.7"
• Screen: 6" diagonal, 600 x 800 resolution
• Weight: 10.3 ounces
• Battery life: with wireless - 2 days, without wireless - 7 days
• Battery charges in 2 hours
• Holds over 200 books
• Full QWERTY keyboard
• SD memory card slot

Extra Features

• Access to newspapers, magazines, blogs and Wikipedia
• Built-in dictionary
• Can display converted Word, PDF and HTML documents and images (gifs, jpegs, pngs)
• Search through your library through author, title and content
• Bookmark and annotate what you read
• 6 adjustable font sizes
• Built-in web browser (rudimentary)

Pros

• No monthly bill for wireless access
• Electronic paper technology is awesome, real ink and you can read outside!
• Lightweight, only 10 ounces
• Wikipedia access
• Can also read blogs, newspapers and magazines
• ebooks purchased from one account on Amazon can be shared on 6 Kindles
• Can download any free eBook and read it
• Free software to convert PDFs
• Notes, quotes and highlights saved in a simple text file
• Open ebook format - anyone can create Kindle books with free software
• Compatible with any computer (Mac, Linux, Windows)
• Dynamic scrollbar separate from display
• Open publishing platform - anyone can sell books to Kindle users
• Screen uses real ink
• Small; the size of, and even thinner than, the average book.

Cons

• Blogs, newspapers, etc are limited to Amazon's choice
• Doesn't support PDF (Sony Reader does)
• Only works in North America
• Limited to buying from the Kindle store
• Can't share books with friends
• Not open to third-party development
• Too expensive.
• $0.10 fee per file to transer documents from PC via Whispernet
• Tedious content management (No Folders)
• No backlight.
• Many Kindle books are nearly the same price as the hardback version
• No internet browser
• QWERTY keyboard is overkill

Readius the first ebook reader

Readius is the first ebook reader with a rollable display. This new feature allows the Readius to be the same size as a small cell phone, but the screen can be pulled out to provide a 5" display screen. The Readius competes with Amazon's Kindle in connectivity as itt comes with tri-band GSM/GPRS and Edge as well as dual band UMTS/HSDPA to allow users to connect with Content World. This application offers a wide range of content via the internet, remote PC access or via a paid subscription.
Features

• Reads HTML, PDF, ASCII file formats
• Bluetooth compatable
• USB port
• Internet connectivity via GSM/GPRS and Edge networks
• Access to RSS and podcasts
• Comes with an email viewer
• Preloaded adgenda viewer
• Audio player that works with mp3, AAC and WMA files
• Rechargable battery
• Access to Content World

Sony's Pocket and Touch Ebook Readers Priced to Move; Promises Wireless Next

As you may have heard, Sony's shipping a $200 5" Reader Pocket Edition and $300 6" Reader Touch Edition at the end of August. Also coming: Mac support and—later on—wireless downloading like Amazon's Kindle.

It's a good move for Sony, who is taking the populist approach here. Not only have they lowered the price on devices that use the easy-on-the-eyes but notoriously expensive E-Ink display, but they are also dropping the price of bestsellers and new-release books from $12 to $10 a pop, to get in line with Amazon.

Beyond that, they recently got Google to chip in 1 million public-domain books to their bookstore, available to you for the lovely price of $0.00, and continue to stress that you can sideload all kinds of stuff to a Sony Reader that you can't just copy over to most Kindles, such as PDFs and Word docs, not to mention "check out" digital books from libraries via OverDrive.

To top it all off, Sony is adding a Mac client, so that owners can load up purchased content via either computer platform. The new Readers themselves will load up either software automatically when connected to the computer—no pesky CD-ROM required. (Owners of the PRS-505 and the PRS-700 will be able to download the Mac client and a firmware update at the time of launch, late this month.)

Am I excited? Yes, for a couple of reasons. Not only does the openness, uncharacteristic of Sony in general, show good will, it ensures that the Sony Reader won't just go down in history as one of Sony's great but all-too-proprietary ideas. Forget even the Mac software and the free books—real proof of openness is that in addition to Memory Sticks, these Readers take SD cards!

The Pocket Edition (PRS-300) will come in pink, silver and blue, and have toggle buttons on the side. Five inches is kinda small for a screen, but presumably it's good for fans of pulp fiction.

The Touch Edition (PRS-600), is a bigger deal on many levels. You may recall I pretty much loathed the PRS-700, because its touchscreen was plagued with glare, and overly layered. I haven't seen the new touch model, but I am ensured that this was a chief concern during the development of the PRS-600, and that it's far easier to read than the PRS-700. The side lighting has been stripped out, so you still need a separate light source, but the side light was such a bad idea, I am happy to hear about this fix.

And as for wireless, I am glad Sony is up front about working on something that would truly rival the Kindle. It will be interesting to see how Sony rolls out a PC-free ebook platform. The word from Sony to us today: "As announced earlier, we will be bringing a wireless product to market. The particulars of 'when' and 'how much' will come later. Wireless is important and wireless is coming from Sony."

This isn't a review—we still need to check out the hardware, and some who have seen the touchscreen PRS-600 mention it's sluggish and "underwhelming." Presumably, the software kinks are still being worked out. We'll let you know the deal when we see final product.

Sony Reader PRS 300 Pocket Edition

August 2nd update: J&R of New York briefly put up the Sony Reader 300 Pocket Edition for preorders. The price for the Sony 300 Pocket Edition is just $199.

A user at the Sony Insider Forums has found service manuals for the 2 upcoming (and until now, secret) Sony Reader models. First, is the Sony Reader PRS-300 -

You can look at the Sony Reader 300 manual in PDF or get the Sony 300 manual’s Kindle compatible version.

Sony Reader PRS-300 – Key Details

1. Priced at just $199. Very aggressive pricing.
2. Sony 300 has a 5 inch screen.
3. Very light at 7.76 oz (220 g).
4. Very thin at .4″.
5. Sony Reader 300 will be available in Red, Black and Silver.
6. Lots of buttons -
   

   A circular scroll wheel type button for navigation, 4 buttons below the screen, and 5 buttons on the right side of the screen that are sub-divided into 2 parts each.

7. Can only be recharged via AC adapter (or so the manual seems to say).
8. 440 Mb of storage capacity.
9. Battery Life of the Sony Reader 300 is 7,500 pages of BBeB format books or 6,800 pages of ePub format books.
10. Dimensions of 4.25″ by 6.25″ by .4″.
11. The colors might be pink, black and silver.

Sony Reader PRS-300 – Video of the Manual

Here are relevant parts of the manual – done

It seems it’ll be a worldwide release, although not sure if every country will get the new Sony Readers at the same time. The countries mentioned are US, Canada, UK, France, Germany, and Netherlands.

Sony Reader 300 – My Thoughts

This seems like the lower end, no touchscreen, fits in your pocket version. It’s actually called Sony Reader PRS 300 Pocket Edition.

My guesses would be -

1. $200 price tag. Was right on the price – it’s $199.
2. WiFi built-in.
3. The buttons on the right side are used for either tabs or to select an individual line.
4. The buttons on the front clearly are for Home, Enter, Menu and something else.
5. The scroll wheel button is obviously for navigation, it also has icons which indicate it has dual functions much like a camera’s controls where down can be pressed twice to delete and so forth.

Sony has definitely made things interesting. The Sony Reader 300 suddenly becomes the most portable eReader around, and since it’s at $199 it’s going to win a lot of the lower end of the eReader market.