Tag Archives: E-Book Readers

Panasonic Raboo UT-PB1 E-Reader is Now Official, Has Tablet Features (Video)

Posted by on July 23, 2011 No comments


Panasonic just unveiled the UT-PB1 e-reader, a device that’s a bit closer to the tablet segment than the e-book readers. This model was showcased as the e-Book Expo Tokyo this year, although not all details have been revealed.

Now, the slate gets detailed with everything we need to know about it. We’re dealing with a 7 inch color touchscreen unit, that will debut in Japan on August 10th, with a retail price of $444 and featuring over 600 e-books. This model runs on Android OS, thanks to a dual core CPU of unknown flavor.

The Android software has been customized by Panasonic and more details about the hardware include a 400 gram weight, 8GB of storage, WiFi, Bluetooth, microSDHC and support for various types of video and audio files. Even web and email apps are given a go, so this is more than a reading device.

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E-Note is a $40 Note Taking Tablet That’s As Simple as It Gets (Video)

Posted by on July 15, 2011 No comments


Say goodbye to the white board and note taking on paper, as the E-Note is as good a notebook replacement as it gets. You can write on its screen, press a button to erase and you’ll only pay a mere $40 for this unit at Brookstone.

The display is a LCD one and the slate lasts for 50,000 iterations, with the battery being charged for 5 years. How’s that for performance? Sadly, there’s no ability to record what you’re written and play it back, so it’s not as “scripta manent” as we’d like it to. However, there’s a version with storage coming this year, fixing all the flaws of the original model.

For this price, I’d settle with its abilities right now, but an extra ability to browse the web and play Angry Birds never hurt anyone. Hands on video with the E-Note below:

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Kindle 3G Now Priced at $139 Thanks to AT&T and Amazon

Posted by on July 14, 2011 No comments


Amazon teamed up with AT&T in order to offer a unique price for the Kindle 3G: $139. This special price is $50 lower than the usual one and comes as a follow-up to the enthusiasm in the AT&T team, with the carrier’s CEO Ralph de la Vega saying that the 3G Kindle is “by far the fastest growing connected device” on the AT&T network.

What’s the trick with this special offer? Well, the device comes with ad sponsored content, so the idea is pretty nice and a win-win situation. Users will have ads displayed at the bottom of the screen and can even select between them using the AdMash Kindle app. Back in April there was another hot offer, selling the Kindle WiFi for $114 and quickly making it the most popular and best selling eReader.

Kindle 3G also comes with several other offers: free 3G wireless, global 3G coverage, Kindle Store with over 950k books and integration with “Buy Once, Read Everywhere” Kindle apps.

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Panasonic Demos Android-Based E-Reader/Tablet (Video)

Posted by on July 9, 2011 No comments


Panasonic recently unveiled and demoed a new e-reader that also serves as a tablet and it’s based on the Android 2.2 Froyo OS. This model is specifically created for the Japanese market and it offers e-books through a special store set up by Rakuten, the biggest local e-commerce brand in Japan.

The initial line-up will include at least 10k titles of books and Panasonic claims that the owners of this device can redeem bonus points received by buying e-books. For example, you can buy food and clothing if you want from Rakuten and use the bonus points. As far as specs go, this model packs a 7 inch LCD touchscreen, wit 1024 x 600 pixel resolution, a dual core CPU, a camera, a microSDHC card slot and WiFi.

The e-reader will come with a bunch of basic apps pre-installed, like the browser, mail client, Adobe Reader and more… The launch of the device will take place next month, but the price is yet to be established. Demo of the unit right here:

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E-readers Sell Better Than Tablets in the USA, According to Study

Posted by on June 29, 2011 No comments


There’s a puzzling study out there, saying that in spite of the iPad’s domination of the tablet segment, e-readers are doing admirably in the overall portable device market. A recent report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project is saying that the Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook are actually more popular than tablets in the USA.

Last winter the slates were market leader with 7% of the US adults owning a unit, while 6% had an e-reader. However, in the following months things changed, and 12% of the American adults owned an e-reader, while tablets went to 8%. We also have to mention the margin error of the survey, that’s 2%, but doesn’t change the picture much.

Also, we have to mention that 3% of the adults own both devices. If you want raw sale figures, we know that Apple sold over 25 million iPads, but Amazon and Barnes & Noble refuse to disclose sales of their e-readers. so there’s no exact way to tell. Analysts such as Mark Mahaney claim that Amazon could sell about 17.5 million Kindles in 2011 alone.

I guess that it’s all about the price, that sometimes is half what you pay for a tablet…

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New Nook E-Reader Hacked, Now Complete With Bluetooth and Even Kindle (Video)

Posted by on June 12, 2011 No comments


The new Nook e-reader was recently spotted running Angry Birds, which is a strange choice, considering that e-paper display. Well, now the device even got hacked, to the point of having a launcher, Bluetooth and … even the Kindle app.

As you can see, there are some problems with the animation, that seems to be flickering, but still it’s a good step in the right direction. Considering there’s a Kindle app somehow ported on the Nook, when will we see Nook elements ported on the Kindle. I know, you’re going to say: “why would anyone do that?”. The answer is “for kicks”…

Nook Touch is turning up to be quite the popular hacking platform, right? Will Kobo get the same treatment?

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Computex 2011: ECS Showcases Android Color E-Book Reader

Posted by on June 1, 2011 No comments


Taking part in local Taiwan-based show Computex 2011, the company ECS unveiled a new Color e-book reader known as the EB-850R. The product packs an 8 inch 800 x 600 pixel display, which is a resistive touchscreen.

Under the hood there’s a Wondermedia 8650 CPU, plus 256MM or 512MB of RAM and internal storage from 2 to 32GB, depending on the options you choose. The New e-reader comes with a microSDHC card reader, WiFi B/G/N, optional 2G/3G and runs on Android 2.2 Froyo. It can read many formats, among which there’s ePUB, PDF, TXT, CHM and RTF.

The product also supports picture viewing and audio file playback.

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Barnes & Noble E-Ink Nook eReader Reaches the FCC, Available for Preorder Now

Posted by on May 28, 2011 No comments


Not so long ago we witnessed the unveiling of the Barnes and Noble new Nook eReader, this time complete with a 6 inch E Ink display. Now, the FCC has approved the product in the WiFi version and the device is mentioned in the documents as BNRV300, but there’s no mention of other details.

However, we do know that the product is available for preorder on Barnes and Noble’s website for $140. The WiFi Nook should arrive on your doorstep on June 10th, packing 2GB of internal memory, a microSD card slot, WiFI 802.11 b/g/n and weighing a mere 7.5 ounces.

The battery should last enough for 2 months of use on a single charge and with the WiFi off. Do you find this product more appealing than the Kindle?

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Barnes & Noble Reveals New Nook, With Touchscreen E-Ink; Product Priced at $139

Posted by on May 25, 2011 No comments


Barnes & Noble has just unveiled a new Nook e-reader, during a special NYC event. The device comes with a $139 price tag and its maker claims that this is the easiest to use e-book reader on the market. Page turning latency doesn’t exist and the battery lasts for up to 2 months, which is double the Kindle’s current performance.

On board of the new Nook you’ll find an E Ink screen, with a 6 inch diagonal and the whole casing measures 5 x 6.5 inches. The product weighs 7.5 ounces, it lacks a QWERTY keyboard and ships on June 10. Pre-orders are already available on Nook.com and the original model now sits at $119, for the WiFi version.

The 3G one costs $169, while supplies last, since we expect a discontinuation of the older Nook. I guess that only an Amazon tablet can take this device down…

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NOOKcolor Storage Space for Apps is a Mere 1GB On New Devices?!

Posted by on May 21, 2011 No comments


NOOKcolor recently made the news by reaching 1,000,000 downloads of apps in the first week of support for this device. Offered by Barnes & Noble, the product also has a downside when it comes to downloading, since a mere 1GB of the 5GB of storage it offers will be partitioned for side-loaded content.

Don’t be scared by this limitation, though, as it seems that only the new NOOKcolor units that come in boxes with a blue dot on them will be affected by this. This single GB will store music, movies and more, while the rest of storage is available for books. We suppose that there’s a workaround being developed right now, or maybe even an update from the e-reader’s makers…

The product still remains a well sold item, at a mere $249 and this storage aspect doesn’t seem to slow it down.

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