Archive for May, 2009

T-Mobile’s MyTouch 3G Is A Much-Improved Google Phone

The T-Mobile MyTouch 3G is T-Mobile’s second smartphone running Google’s Android mobile operating system.

Technorati Tags: e readers, Kindle, mobile gadgets

Can you use the Kindle 2 internet for free or does it cost money?

I just got a Kindle 2 and was wondering if i could access my yahoo e-mail account for free or if it costs money. I don’t want to run up a credit card bill unintentionally. Can i actually send and receive emails from my kindle?

eReader Competition and Benefits

Let’s discuss about all the different ereaders and ebook stores entering the market and how they benefit the consumers like us. Let’s look at the good ideas and initiatives each company is bringing to the table, whether the idea is being adopted by other companies, and the benefits to us.

Amazon and the Kindle

WhisperNet and WhisperSync. Plastic Logic and Sony will both match this by early 2010 and we are well on the way to having wireless book delivery becoming a standard feature for ereaders.
$9.99 prices - Shortcovers, BN, Sony have all matched this recently.
Validating the market. If not for the success of the Kindle, there would be much less interest.
Self Publishing.
Addressing the textbook market with the Kindle reader.

Sony and the Sony Reader

They were the first big company (in this current era of ebooks and ereaders) to launch an ereader and restart the push.
PDF and ePub support.
Low prices and the first $199 eReader that is reasonably up to date in terms of features.
Worldwide availability.
Preventing Amazon from totally overrunning the eReader market.

Apple, iPhone App Store and the rumored 10″ Apple iReader

App Store and providing a channel for publishers to address once-a-month readers.
Allowing lots of people to test out various ideas via the App Store.
Rumored iReader has given Amazon and Sony motivation to release new products faster.
Probably, really good usability when its out.
Probably, really good looks when its out.

Google and Google Books

Scanning Library Books. Amazon signed up with the University of Michigan so this idea is spreading.
Free Public Domain Books. Again, Amazon offered this (7K books though, not a million), and B&N and Sony are using Google Books.
Trying to make orphan works available.
The threat of advertising based books. Forcing Amazon to apply for a patent. For the people that are OK with books subsidized by advertising, this is good.

Barnes & Noble and eBookstore

A device independent ebook store.
Retail Locations for users to try out ereaders.
Reduce the overwhelming advantage Amazon enjoyed over other ereaders.

Indigo and Shortcovers

Device independent ebook store like B&N.
Added competition for the bigger players.
Support for BlackBerry and Android before other companies.

iPhone Reading Apps – Stanza, Classics, etc.

Validating the market for reading on iPhone.
Creating a popular category of Book Apps.
Providing publishers alternate channels.
Forcing Amazon to support iPhone.

Plastic Logic and its eReader

Large Screen Sizes and unbreakable screens.
Probably caused a quicker Kindle DX launch.
Hope for non-US customers and probably accelerating Amazon efforts to launch in Europe.
Promise of a 3rd party app store.

Gutenberg, The Internet Archive, ManyBooks, etc.

Actual altruism.
Lots of free ebooks.
Support for most formats.
Device independence.

Dell Tablet Reader

Promise of a subsidised $0 reader and a subscription model.
Validating the idea that eReaders are big.

Pixel Qi and its 3qi screens

Promise of color screens for cheap and a couple years ahead of schedule.
Great battery life on color screens.

11 Next Big Ideas and Initiatives

While different companies have created some huge advances, there are still some really big ideas left to be implemented (am including a few ideas from above that are not yet implemented) -

Technology that smartly leverages network effects and word of mouth
An App Store for eReading devices
A well thought out Social Reading option
An ebook rental model
A solution for independent authors to get a fair chance
Color support
Better eInk for Faster Refreshes and Better Contrast
Foldable or Rollable Screens
A well executed subscription model
The evolved version of the eReader that replaces paper, and not just books
An idea that reduces the distance between authors and readers

Technorati Tags: kindle competition, Kindle Dx, kinlde 2

Amazon Kindle 2 Review: Why It’s The Most Popular eBook Reader Today

You may have already heard about the Kindle when it was first released. Compared to some technologies such as the iPhone and new versions of Windows, the Kindle was a fairly quiet release. If you are an avid reader, you were probably more than a little intrigued. But intrigue grew into popularity with the release of the much-improved Kindle 2. And now with the Kindle DX, the most advanced reader on the market, Amazon has become the single most popular maker of ebook readers.

But is all this popularity well-founded or is it just hype brought on by a new piece of technology? To be fair, it is a bit of both. The Kindle is far from a perfect device and it won’t be replacing the paper book just yet, but it does offer the best possible way to take your books, and lots of them, wherever you want to go. That portability is something you just cannot find with normal books. And even though the Kindle DX is big, roughly the dimensions of a sheet of paper but substantially thicker, it can bring over 3,000 books with it. You would need quite a backpack to carry a library that big with you.

The Kindle 2 may be the most popular ebook reader available, but it certainly isn’t the only one. The DX, however, is really the only one of its kind available. It offers a huge screen, more storage and some cool features such as a rotating screen like the iPhone. But it also makes a huge price jump from the Kindle 2.

The price of the Kindle DX is $489. This is probably why many people, even those who think highly of the Kindle and the ebook technology, are hesitant to get a Kindle DX. It doesn’t even come with any freebies like a bestseller or two, and since you would still need to purchase a good cover for it, your costs could extend well beyond the $500-mark. At the very least, couldn’t Amazon just have thrown in a cover into the package?

Since the Kindle is a fairly new device, it still hasn’t completely broken into the market. Although it is the most popular one, the Kindle still can’t offer its internet connection service outside the country. Once the Kindle is more established, this is likely to change. For now, many people just see it as a fancy way to read books. But it wasn’t so long ago that the iPod was just a fancy way to listen to music. Now, it is one of the most widely spread pieces of technology you can find. The Kindle remains revolutionary in what it offers. Eventually, it is hard to imagine that paper books will not be replaces. For now, it is still a luxury to many people, but as it discovers its territory in the marketplace, more and more homes will be losing the bookshelf and getting a Kindle.

Watch this review and watch it in action:

Visit us to see a video tour of the Amazon Kindle 2 and see for yourself if it’s the right ebook reader for you!

Technorati Tags: Buy Kindle 2, Kindle 2, review kindle 2

Should I get the Kindle 2 or the iPhone?

Which should I do, buy a Kindle 2, or get the app for my iPhone? Which one is better, and what are the pros and cons of both?

Thanks!

Free Books for your e Readers

One of the major attractions with investing in e readers is the ease getting free books from the internet. They are mainly from public domain, including Amazon. This alone can already more than cover the cost you spend in buying your e reader or Amazon Kindle. Here are the top 200 free ebooks for your reference. Enjoy!