Brother is a Japanese company who already have an e-Book reader in the market called the SV-100B. That e-Book reader never made it to anywhere outside Japan but it is already time for a new version. Brother has now released a new model called SV-70. Interestingly, instead of making it even better, this is actually a scaled down version of the original e-reader and in most cases they are very similar to each other. They both use the eInk display made famous by the Kindle and they are exactly the same in dimensions as well. I would say they also look identical.

But the Sv-70 stored half the pages compared to the SV-100B — 500 pages on the SV-70 compared to the SV-100B’s 1000 pages. Also, there is no Bluetooth 2.0+EDR on the SV-70 but the SV-100B has it. Also, the older model could connect to a cellphone wirelessly to access documents — that is gone too. You know, you would think that a newer model would have more ways to connect. But instead you have a device that barely connect’s at all.

On the surface, it is pretty ugly.  I am sorry but in an age where minimalism is beautiful, that huge a thing with so many buttons is just plain unsightly. Still, the fact that it they have made a new model with far less features  might mean that their target market is something else altogether and no one really wants to connect to anything.

And that might actually be the case, given how much Brother is charging for the SV-70. If you thought a $400 e-reader was expensive, you might want to look away right now. Because Brother’s SV-70 costs something around $1092.00 per unit! Yes, I put in those decimal zeroes to show you that there has been no mistake! Obviously, this meant mainly for industrial users who have a completely different set of feature set in mind. I guess we will only know when at least one of these finally gets out of Japan.

A sample of the Bridgestone display

It seems like the Apple iPad announcement has really shaken things up in the tech industry because we are suddenly hearing a lot of new announcements from companies we had almost forgotten about or did not know existed. The latest is Delta Electronics and their 13.1 inch e-reader that will carry a color e-paper display. This display has been developed by Bridgestone and it will hopefully have better refresh rate than the eInk technology that is found on the Kindle. While the e-reader itself may not be very interesting, the display does interest a lot of people because this is what future eBook readers might start using.

Other than the colored, larger version, Delta Electronics also plans to bring forth another e-reader model that will have a monochrome display measuring 8.1 inch. This too will use the same e-paper display technology as the larger, colored version. Both devices are expected to have touchscreen UI’s, since that is the latest thing to add to e-readers.

The date chosen by Delta Electronics has not been the best one though. They chose to announce it the same day when Apple released their iPad. As a result, it simply got buried under a lot of Apple coverage. The color eBook model was actually briefly shown off last year and it did garner some interest at that time.

At this moment, details about the UI are uncertain and hence there is a lot of room to speculate about how it will compete with Kindles and the Nook. Of course, that is only if it plans to compete at all. This could end up being just another boring e-reader that just has a different screen. But if it manages to to do video somehow that might shake things up quite a bit. But even then, it has to have a content store of some kind to compete with the Kindle, Nook or the iPad even. Current estimated shipping date is sometime in Q2 2010, same as the Asus Dr-950 e-reader.

MSI had gone on record late last year saying that they were looking at building an e-reader device that will compete with the other mainstream offerings that are already there in the market. Whether they changed that plan or are showing something completely new, we don’t know but MSI has been showing off a dual-touchscreen device that looks more like a netbook than an eBook reader. It surely isn’t something as simple and direct as the Kindle, as it seems to be aimed at running a lightweight OS.

MSI probably is not looking at putting Windows 7 on this but they are surely going to be looking at light OS’ like the Chrome OS from Google or the Andrioid Mobile OS, also from Google.

Whether or not this is going to reach mainstream is still unknown because the device is still at a prototype stage without any word about manufacturing plans at the moment. But judging by the way MSI is talking about, it sounds like they fully intend to translate this into a mass market product or at least try to do so.

The comparison with e-book readers mainly comes in because of its similarity to the Courier tablet that is rumored to be under development at Redmond. The dual touchscreen is definitely a good way to emulate a book and it will definitely look good in usage if it does come true. However, there are several things that still stand in the way of making this happen. Battery life is going to be pretty low if there are two normal screens on the device, so they have to switch to something like the Pixel Qi. Graphics is also going to have to be pretty powerful to pull this off the way the demo shows it.

So over all, if it does come to fruition it might be a nice device but that time might be a long way off at this moment.

So Mustek is not exactly the company you would expect to be making a product like this but then this is that time in the history of technology when OEMs are making finished products and some are actually making it pretty big. So without further ado, allow me to introduce you to the MER-6T e-reader. This is yet another eInk reader that slaps a touchscreen on the display and expects to take on the like of the Kindle and perhaps the Nook as well.

So what does this e-reader have that the others don’t? Nothing in particular really. It has a touchscreen eInk display, which is pretty common now. It has a slim profile – only 0.4″ thick but we have thinner ones already. It has a 3.5mm headphone out and that is pretty much universal. It lacks a proper content store and that… is also pretty much universal in the myriad ‘me too!’ e-readers that have flooded the market (with a few exceptions of course).

But then, if you look at white body and the collection of features and do not think of its competition, then it is actually a halfway decent device. They do try to market it by putting the cover of a ‘Twillight’ book on the display but do not be fooled — it cannot do color. It is a normal eInk display. But it does have an SD card expansion slot and a 6inch screen. So if the UI has not been botched up too badly, it can still be useful for some people.

Of course, it has nothing on premium class e-readers that put thousands of eBooks that your disposal that you can buy right from the device and start reading within moments. That user experience is what really separates the Kindle and such devices from products like this one.

No word on pricing yet, so nothing to say on that count either.

Asus has this strategy of throwing everything against the wall and seeing what sticks. So earlier this month Asus officially acknowledged that they have an e-Book reader in the pipeline. There were rumors about an Asus e-reader that has a 5inch OLED screen that carries the model number DR-570. But this is called the DR-950 and it has a 9inch e-Ink display. The same kind of display that is used on the Kindle.

It has a resolution of 1024×768 and has support for ePub, PDF and HTML. There’s also text-to-speech and RSS reader, which are good features to have. Onboard storage is 2-4GB and it is expandable via an SD card slot. There’s a 3.5mm headphone out and a USB port too. The 0.35inch thinness is pretty impressive and Asus is even considering  putting in WiMax into that frame. There’s already WiFi and HSDPA built in. The eInk screen has a touch-sensitive layer on top of  it, so there are concerns about the display losing some clarity and readability.

The rumors about the DR-570 refuse to die down however and Digitimes insists that Asus will ship two readers and not one. The current time frame is Q2 2010, so we will know soon. The OLED screen will definitely be no match for the eInk screen in terms of battery life and readability but it will be able to display color and video. So it will likely be a color eBook reader. It must be kept in mind that Asus also has a tablet device planned. So if they release a touchscreen OLED e-reader, it will definitely cannibalize any market that the Eee Pad has.

As for the e-reader competing with the Kindle, it can be safely assumed that there is no way Asus can catch the Kindle bookstore and the International Kindle’s free wireless anywhere in the world. So Asus has to be satisfied with only a niche market.

Interead has released new Cool-er models at CES in the hopes of finally being able to  defeat the Kindle in its own game. While that might be just a pipe dream for this spiffy little start up (without things to match the Whispernet and the International Kindle), they sure are stepping things up in their bid to provide everyone and their brother with eBook readers. Their objective is simple — to make eBook readers for the masses, to become the ‘iPod’ of eBook readers. Whilst I would not usually say that aspiring to achieve the success and ubiquity of another company’s product is a worthwhile dream, I think we can let ‘em have it as long as it is the market changing iPod series.

They already had an iPod-like reader (much bigger in size thankfully), called the Cool-er. It received some mixed reactions from reviewers and was judged to be overall a worthwhile product for the price (which was lower than the average eBook reader). Now, at CES 2010, they have revealed two new models that extend the Cool-er line of readers to 3 models. The existing Cool-er is to get a 3G update and we now have a new model called the Cool-er compact. The Compact is a slim-little 6″ device that really focusses on being sleek and stylish. The iPod-inspired track wheel has been moved to the center and is flanked by two soft buttons. These three are the only embellishments on the face, which gives the reader nice and clean look. It has 2GB onboard storage and has an SD card slot for expansion. At just 10mm in thickness. this is supposed to be the eBook reader with the smallest footprint of all!

Another model that is supposed to come out is the Cool-er Connect. It will be a touchscreen version of the device that will have WiFi onboard with over the air downloads at hotspots all over the country.

Skiff is the result of the efforts put in by Hearst and it was previewed at this year’s CES. Skiff is an eBook reader like no other. It uses LG’s Micro Foil display technology that allows the device to be the largest and yet the thinnest eBook reader in existence. It is so thin that there’s a press photo of ir being bent and it look just like a piece of plastic being bent. But make no mistake about its features because it is pretty well packed and some people are saying that is looks better than even the Kindle DX.

It comes with both WiFi and 3G, the latter of which is brought to you by Sprint. The device is optimized for large format print publications like newspaper and magazines. It will have an undisclosed number of tie ups with various content providers, including the San Francisco Chronicle, as seen in the image on the right. The reader is supposed to enable the distribution and viewing of print media content in rich visual styles including rich layouts and detailed letter faces along with dynamic updates to the device itself. They are probably referring to the availability of 3G on the device and pushing content over the air. It remains to be seen whether the 3G connection is baked into the price of the product like the International Kindle.

The Skiff eBook reader will integrate with the Skiff e-reader service, which is the equivalent of the Whispernet on the Kindle. But instead of mainly books, think mostly periodicals that you have to subscribe to. The people behind the Skiff are hopeful that this device will help the industry turn around and make some money from subscriptions which are flagging. And the Skiff’s gorgeous and sleek looks are going to come in real handy in those efforts.

SpringDesign wasn’t ready for a public show and tell when the Nook was announced. But due to the similarity between the two devices (and according to the Spring Design it is not coincidence), SpringDesign had to stick their neck out with an unfinished prototype. Now they finally have a finished version that can be played with and Pocket-lint got in some hands on time with it at this year’s CES. Of course, we all know that the CES 2010 almost had an entire section for eBook readers, there were just so many of them. Looks like everyone wants a piece of the Kindle pie! Apple included, if the rumors are anything to go by.

Coming back to the Alex, the first impression of the device is definitely its sleek looks. Looking at it in the profile really makes you appreciate how slim it is. Then you notice the LCD touchscreen. On the Nook, the secondary LCD touchscreen is barely a strip and is strictly meant for navigation. So to me it is more like a gimmick — watch your book covers in full color before beaming them up to the e-paper display. But on the Alex it is more like an iPhone sized screen. And with Android running in the background, it does have some exciting possibilities.

One thing that the Nook obviously has over the Alex is the massive support of the Barnes & Noble catalogue. With devices like this, at least at this moment, content can really make or break devices. The Nook would not have sold half as many units had it not been for the content that comes tied in with it. With that in mind, Alex’s $399 price tag sure sounds pricey compared to the Kindle and others. But given the extra functionality (almost everything Android does minus the GSM/CDMA bits) on a larger screen and a possible cut in prices when it goes into production, might see it catch on.

The Entourage Edge Dualbook

I finally decided to address the elephant in the room and write about the tablets that are about to burst forth on to the scene. There has been a lot of talk about whether the tablets are going to kill off the eBook readers and my answer is both yes and no. Yes, I know that’s always and annoying answer to give but that’s the way life works.

To further explain, it will interest the readers of this blog that I don’t the Kindle is in any kind of danger at the moment even if Apple really launches a tablet device this month complete with a full range of content on iTunes. Here’s why.

The Kindle started this whole eBook reader thing, even though it wasn’t the first one at the scene. Amazon hit it on the head with the Whispernet. Then, the Kindle went international, giving Amazon much greater market penetration. It is also a device that has gone through more than one product cycle and that means it is better tuned and more in sync with the demands of the market. This is not true for almost all other readers in the market.

That is why they are easy victims for the tablets to pick off. Tablets will be multimedia devices and hence much more attractive at the onset. They will have full color and everything that a portable computer does today. But they will still lack the paper like display that is easy on the eye and lasts for days on end. The two most important things that made the eBook readers click.

Still, these hurdles will slowly be overcome and we might see a tablet Kindle in the future because convergence  is where we are headed and Amazon will surely upgrade the Kindle to counter this threat. So overall, I think it will basically be the survival of the fittest, just like it always has been in a free market economy.

The Banes and Noble Nook eBook reader got updated just before Christmas. So those lucky(?) souls who got theirs delivered before or around that time were able to update their Nook for a comparatively nicer time reading eBooks on their new eBook reader on Christmas. But has the update made the Nook into a killer product, the answer sadly is a no. It still has some time to go before it can threaten established players like the Kindle.

In fact, even according to some official words form B&N this wasn’t anything major. They were simply testing things out with their very first over-the-air update for the Nook. Other than allowing a “seamless” access to the   B&N store providing exclusive content for the Nook, it also improves on the core speed and performance. That basically means it fixes the things that were slowing the Nook down noticeably. This should also cut down on the number of complaints that we were getting to hear about the Nook.

The Nook was already overbooked and supply was low much before Christmas. So most people who wanted to buy and/or gift eBook readers went for the Kindle or the Sony Readers. So the holidays have not made Nook the overnight sensation that some thought it would become. However, do not get me wrong on this count. The Nook is actually a very promising device and if B&N can play it right they are in for really good business. The Nook’s secondary color touchscreen might make more of a difference than originally expected. Plus, the Android factor also works to make it a very powerful device that is also flexible enough to accept radical new features that weren’t thought of before. So hopefully we will see this morph into a really good eBook reader that is different from all the rest.

Plastic Logic has decided that making a general eBook reader will simply not cut it anymore and they are quite right in thinking that too. So they have announced that their eBook reader, called QUE, will be the world’s first “proReader”. What that they mean by that is what many company’s mean when they proudly mention attach the ‘pro’ prefix to their products — it’s meant for business. So what does it have that the Kindle or the Nook doesn’t?

Well, the details are scanty on this one because the company is not letting things out of the bag yet but we do know that it will support multiple file formats that are usually required by business users. So it will be able to read (and display) PDF, PowerPoint, Word and Excel format — yes, they actually deliver on what they are promising. I mean at least where proper business format file support is concerned.

The company also promises a user interface that is as intuitive as “paper and ink”. Now that’s a tall claim but for a device with the largest touchscreen available in the market, it would be a shame for it not to have a great touch based UI. So let’s hope for the best.

Plastif Logic is going to compete directly with the Kindle readers with the QUE and a store that will be powered by Barnes and Noble. The QUE measures 8.5”x11.6” and is apparently just 1/3 of an inch thick. Now that sounds good. However, we will have to see this device to know exactly how good it is in person. A lot of things sound brilliant on paper but turn to be huge disappointments in person.

As time wears on, Entourage is getting closer and closer to finally releasing its Edge ‘dualbook’ device. This dual screen (eInk + LCD touchscreen) toting device has really gotten everybody’s attention. This device is part reader like a Kindle with a touchscreen and part Internet tablet like so many that are in the pipeline. The whole thing is powered by Android and is sounds like an extremely versatile convergent device on paper.

We have posted about this device earlier on this blog. This time the reason is a hands on video with what looks like a prototype of the model that has gone into production. The early prototype that was doing its rounds of the trade shows, was a much bulkier version of what we are looking at now. There is of course news of the device being much smoother, polished and sleeker as it comes out of the production line. But this video, courtesy cnet, gives us a sneak preview of the device.

From the video, it is quite apparent that the developers have corrected the glitches that were very obviously there on the first prototype. The touchscreen behaves very well in this video and the eInk screen reacts very well to the stylus. The time for an image to get projected from the reader screen to the LCD screen makes it look like it is lagging or it could simply be a thing about the video showing the LCD screen after the image has appeared.

Over all, the new version is as sleek as the dummy models that were on display and the Android OS inside it looks pretty nifty too. If it works as well as we think it does, this could spark a whole new line of ‘Dualbooks’ in the market. There’s no denying that many of us are carrying around a netbook and a reader, wishing there was one device that gave the advantages of both. We just have to see if it poses a threat to the current market topper — the Kindle.

Kobo's service is currently online at kobobooks.com

Borders, in association with the Canadian publishing company called Kobo, has become the latest company to venture into the world of eBooks. This includes both reader devices and the selling of eBooks through an online store. Although a Borders spokesperson has clarified that Borders will not be involved in the reader devices and they might not carry the devices being developed at the moment. Borders thus constitutes a growing number of competitors for the Kindle and hence for Amazon’s burgeoning eBook business. Of course, it is no secret that the market is expected to explode sometime soon. So even though companies like these are late into the game, they are still entering the market at a nascent stage.

Sure, it would be pretty interesting to see what the devices are going to be like but Borders’ intention to make the platform completely open is even more interesting. It seems like the Borders and Kobo initiative will try to please as many people as they possibly can. And by that I mean that the service will support multiple devices and will be completely platform agnostic.

According to the Chief of Indigo Books & Music (the company behind Kobo), the idea is to free the user from obligations to only one device. Once they buy something from Kobo, they will be able to read it on their readers, their iPhones, their Blackberries and anywhere else that supports eBooks. The service will be based on the open ePub publishing standard, which is already supported in nearly every reader that is there in the market right now. They intend to offer free eBooks from the Internet, as well as paid for eBooks that will start from around $10. They are looking to target light readers who “buy a couple a books a year”.

Of course, everyone is jumping into the eBook thing. And that too before Apple arrives with their market altering tablet and makes everyone feel like they need to go back to the drawing board. So in an attempt to be all ‘me too’, Foxit has made its own eBook store. I just hope they don’t think that they can take on the Nook or the Kindle with this. It’s just not happening.
Foxit has its own eBook readers eSlick and they are actually pretty handy. The devices have recently been updated to support ePub and eReader. It already supported PDF and TXT, so now it is a well-rounded reader in terms of formats. I also like the fact that it started with PDF support built in. We all know by now how important that is.
This new store from Foxit offers over 60,000 titles to its customers. That is pretty nice on paper but when you realize that industry juggernauts like Barnes and Noble are in the game as well, you know that this store from a relatively small company is can’t be all that big a deal. And it actually isn’t. The major titles that you get on the Whispernet and on B&N’s store will probably not appear in this store soon enough for eSlick readers to choose  this store over the other two that I mentioned.
But hey, more competition is always a good thing for the end users. There’s always more innovation and better prices in a market that is stuffed to the gills with products. Look at the mp3 player market for instance. No matter what your budget and needs, there’s one for you somewhere in the world. The direct relationship between price and quality will always be there but you can still get a 16GB player for around $50 if you look hard enough. So here’s to a better eBook future.

Image From Interead

Interead is the startup company behind the fun-loving and simple Cool-er eBook reader. It it is no competition to the big wigs like the Sony readers, Kindle or even Nook but it is simple and relatively cheaper eBook reader that does the basic things.
The Cool-er hasn’t been all that popular and that is mainly because it is a first generation device and simply needed time to mature. The UI, the layout of the current model need changing but the menu system has been deemed alright by those who have used it. These things are still small compared to the lack of WiFi on the current model. This is exactly what is about to change on the Cool-er come 2010.
There were already rumors about a new Cool-er emerging early next year and the CEO had hinted at a color touchscreen enabled phone too. For now at least, the company has confirmed that there is a new Cool-er in the works and it will have 3G connectivity for wireless access to content wherever you are.
The company has apparently tied up with AT&T for this. Hopefully the device will also have improvements to the layout and the the UI as well. There have been no images of the new device in circulation, so we are unsure about all the cosmetic changes that the device will surely go through. Still, if Interead is serious about making the Cool-er the ‘iPod’ of the eBook Readers, it has to be a lot more user friendly.
This is just an upgrade to the Cool-er reader. The color touchscreen reader is probably still in the works.

Barnes And Noble has finally started shipping out the Nook, so at least the early birds will be using their brand new Android based eBook reader over Christmas. The rest of you can get a Kindle for Christmas. So what is the Nook user experience be like? Not too great, judging from the reviews.

It seems like Barnes and Noble is facing what most companies face when launching a new product — the hiccups associated with a first generation device. There’s always a rush to get the thing out of the door and you know that things have been rushed along. After all, the research lab and the marketing wing has never seen eye to eye on almost any issue for all of corporate business history.

So there are features that are missing from the Nook that would likely be addressed by the firmware upgrade that is coming our way soon. The glitches, slow downs and reponse problems are usually associated with software because these things are not caused by the hardware unless something went gravely wrong during initial testing phases. Software can always be pushed out later.

All the reviews by popular techies suggest the same thing over and over again — the thing has potential but it is still a toddler and is not ready to face all the ugliness of the world. As an Android-based reader there is hope for the Nook yet, thanks to its innovative design. Just don’t expect it to do compare favorably with the Kindle as of yet. The Kindle has had a few product cycles to grow and hence it currently stands out as the best bargain amongst the ever growing number of eBooks. But devices like the Nook will soon make sure that the choice is not that simple.

When the news about a new kind of ebook reader from Entourage hit the market, everyone was skeptical. With Amazon’s Kindle and its major competitors like Sony readers already filling the shelves, no one really thought much of this dual screen device that looked more like concept than actual product.

But now it looks like Entourage is pretty serious about making this one work. First there was the fact that the touchscreen side would actually be running a version of Android underneath. Then it was known that the two screens of the device will actually be connected together to provide contextual support. While that might seem like the obvious thing to do, it involves quite a bit of development challenge.

Now that it is on pre-order and waiting to be released, we are getting fresh new details from the folks themselves, courtesy netbooknewds.com.

It was revealed earlier that the eDGe is using a Marvell chipset under the hoods. Now it has become clear that it is using an Armada PX168 processor in order to get things done. The company is also talking about HD videos and 3D graphics. If all of this is pulled off in a respectable way, we can rest assured that this product will be quite a big hit. Just the thought of a fully featured browser with an eBook reader and dual screen to keep the battery life up sounds really exciting.

From the video of the first generation model, it is exciting to see the touchscreen response. Those who have been two-timing between an eBook reader and a netbook, this could a solution in the making.

But without an integrated marketplace like the Whispernet, it will be hard for the company to stay profitable and attractive beyond the initial spurt of interest. As with most of the things that are emerging, only time will tell how things pan out for it.

I’ve received an interesting press release this morning from Social Trade LLC about http://ebookchoice.com/. It’s a new website that compares ebook availability and pricing across Amazon Kindle, Barnes&Noble and Sony PRS ebook stores. Personally I think that this website is a great idea. eBook selection is in my opinion the #1 feature of eBook reader. After all what good is an eReader if you can’t read your favorite books on it. ebookchoice.com gives customers the ability to quickly compare ebook selection before they decide which device to buy.

Along with the press release they’ve provided some interesting statistics about availability of certain books and their pricing:

Amazon, Barnes&Noble and Sony bestseller availability breakdown

As you can see the coverage for these selected book sets is similar with Amazon having a slight advantage. Of 326 books represented in this table 145 are available on Amazon Kindle, 134 you could find in Barnes&Noble store and 135 on Sony PRS-600. ebookchoice.com did another comparison that included 504 prize-winning fiction and non-fiction books from the past few decades. In this comparison Amazon Kindle came out a little bit ahead of the competition as well with 191 books available, followed by Sony with 175 books, Barnes and Noble had 167 books available.

It could and should be much better. Ideally the coverage should be 100%.

Amazon, Barnes&Noble, Sony eBook price distributions

These picture pretty much speaks for itself. Amazon and B&N have similar average price but B&N has a bit more variance while Amazon sticks to $9.99 price point. Sony is a bit more expensive on average and has even more variance in prices.

The website itself is still work in progress though: as I’ve tried to use it this morning, some pages would show MySQL errors and I could only see links to Amazon Kindle books. The coverage is not 100% complete either. I’ve tried searching for Frank Herbert’s “Dune” that I have on my Kindle and ebookchoice.com didn’t have a clue the book existed at all. I believe that these quirks will be worked out with time and the website will realize it’s full potential and become a truly useful and comprehensive resource.

Skiff, owned by Hearst Corporation, specializes in delivering digital content like newspapers and magazines. Come 2010, they are going to launch a new service that will rival with Amazon and the Kindle in some ways.

Skiff intends to start delivering digital content directly to consumers who want this content. The aim is to distribute it to all available channels and that includes dedicated readers, smartphones and tablets. This platform seeks to do exactly what other platforms do for various products.

Skiff will bring publishers, advertisers and consumers together on one forum. The idea is to deliver content to the users and help publishers generate revenue through advertising like they do now. The main focus, as mentioned earlier, is on newspapers and magazines. These publications already generate revenue this way, so it won’t be anything new for them.

They are also planning to sell books through this platform. The question now is whether they can survive in a market that is currently growing extremely fast. To help things along, they are planning to launch a dedicated ebook reader that will be using the Marvell chipset and Sprint’s 3G EV-DO Rev.A network for wireless connectivity to the store. This dedicated reader is supposedly coming in 2010, which means it should already be in the labs getting prototyped.

There are multiple ebook readers that use the Marvell chipset at the moment and adding wireless support to one will not be a big deal. Spring Design’s Alex, Entourage’s eDGe and Plastic Logic’s Que use this chipset. Skiff may be looking at re-branding one of these readers for their purpose. My guess would be Spring Design’s Alex because it looks like they could use a partner.

If this service becomes a hit with publishers of periodicals and newspapers, it will become a leader in that niche and the Kindle will not be all that affected. But if it starts carrying a massive number of books, both new and old, then Amazon might have something worry about on their hands.

Netronix is working with Texas Instruments in order to bring out new eBook readers sometime in 2010. These eBook readers will be running on Android and will do more than just read eBooks. These are, of course, going to be rivaling the Kindle for market share.

Specifications are not available at the moment because the devices are still under development but the chairman of the company, Arthur Lu, that it will have the unique ability to interoperate between Android smartphones and embedded devices. He did not elaborate on it but it looks like this is Netronix’s bid to make their offering different from the rest of the crowd. The ultimate goal is of course to offer something unique and different that will help to sell the product. And they have another something lined up along those lines.

The device will not only have interoperability with other Android devices but it will also have 3G and 3.5G data connection capabilities. This will be done via WWAN, which is only just catching up across the world. These 3G models are expected to land sometime in the middle of next year.

According to Lu, they are looking to transform this reader device into a platform for personal communications. So what he is looking for is the convenience of an eInk screen by but the data support of a MID. Sounds to me like asking for too much.

Kindle works so well because it is focused on reading books and reading books only. While trying to do so many things, the device is likely to end up confusing customers. And may even frustrate them.

iRiver is known for making great portable DAPs and PMPs. So everyone got somewhat curios when they entered the eBook reader market. Their sole reader — the iRiver Story has been out of reach for most of the west because it has not been selling anywhere in the US. That has not changed but it has gotten some hands on time at The Register.

The Story actually does look like a distant Kindle cousin but the reviewer assures us that it is only skin deep. It looks similar on the outside because it has a full QWERTY keypad and the same white color. But that is where the similarities end.

The keypad actually encapsulates all the main controls on the device. As was apparent from the images, all the main controls sit above the keys and four directional keys are integrated within the keypad. So at a glance it might seem like it has dedicated controls missing. The well integrated set up makes for a really nice façade if nothing else.

The keypad looks really nice and it apparently is very comfortable too. It supports PDFs, EPUBS and a host of other formats that include office files like word, powerpoint, excel, etc. That is nice and impressive. But if you want to have full functionality, you will have to upgrade to the latest firmware.

A main area where it loses out to the Kindle is the lack of built-in wireless. This means you will be tied down each time you want to do something online. Plus the bookmarking system is a slightly complicated series of button presses. One great thing about the menu system is that it thankfully bypasses tedious page refreshes every time to access a sub-menu or a new one.

Overall, it is a good eBook reader though.

The screen is real but the housing is non-functional right now

Qualcomm is funding the development of a new type of display technology called Mirasol and it is being touted as the future of eBook readers. That means it will replace the e-Ink technology that our beloved Kindle uses. So how does it work and why is it (reportedly) so much better?

Mirasol has been developed by mimicking a feature that makes the butterfly’s wings shimmer. It uses no back lighting, just like e-Ink and uses incidental light to reflect it back through a special layer. This layer is made up of multiple microscopic membranes that can be change through electric current. Once they change, they remain static in that state until another electric charge causes them to change again. This means they do not use electricity during a period of no change.

Their main advantage is that these membranes can produce the three main colors used in modern color displays – Red, Green And Blue (RGB) – and hence can produce a vibrant colored image. They also produce very impressive blacks (at least in theory) because in their closed state they reflect no light at all and have no other source of light.

Due to their design, they are able to run higher frame rates, thus making smooth videos a possibility on the display. Currently, pushing the frame rate up on the e-Ink would cause it to consume more battery.

That is because e-Ink uses tiny microcapsules that have three states – Black, white amd mixed. Changing them through negative and positive charges creates the same effect as LCD pixels. But since they contain physical particles, they do not need any backlighting. But making them support RGB would require highly specialized particles and higher frame rates would require much more current.

How this will affect eBook readers is still debatable but if it does become viable, then Amazon might consider switching. We just have to wait a bit more to see how it pans out. Qualcomm intends to have it in the market by the end of 2010.

Amazon recently added the reading aloud feature to the Kindle and now the device will be able to read books out aloud so that e-texts are more easily accessible. This step has generally been appreciated by everyone except the National Federation of the Blind. As a result, educational institutions participating in the Kindle pilot program have refused to go ahead with further rollouts.

Although NFB’s rejection might seem counter-intuitive on the surface, it actually is’nt. The NFB does not have a problem with the feature itself (and probably does appreciate it) but they do have a problem with the menu system that contains the feature lower within the menu tree. As a result, users have to go through multiple button presses to get to it. Hence, visually impaired individuals are likely to find if extremely difficult to turn on the read aloud feature without sighted assistance. The NFB also suggests that the menus themselves should be read out aloud to the user for better universal access.

The participating universities – University Of Wisconsin-Madison and Syracuse University, New York – have declared that they will not implement the Kindle on a larger scale before it becomes more universally accessible.

Even though this is a hurdle for Amazon, it does prove that Kindle is still the only eBook reader that has made significant forays into classrooms. And this hurdle is not likely to last very long either. The demanded universal access features will no doubt be added soon because they are already commonly found in devices.

Kindle currently has a bright future in the education field if the corporation behind it plays all its cards right. And so far, the steps taken in this direction have been quite fruitful. If Kindle is fully integrated into the education system, it will probably be the beginning of a mini-revolution that will change the way education is imparted.

I’ve covered before the possible applications that the Kindle and other eReaders could have in education.  With Amazon’s pilot program for Kindle usage at universities, this semester is a testing of the waters for the future of eTextbooks.  The students involved have begun to voice their impressions, and they’re not entirely satisfied.

Does this mean that eReader adoption in the academic world will slow down?  Probably not.  The whole point of the Kindle trial is to see what works, and what doesn’t, when eReaders are put in the classroom.  So far students like the convenience of textbooks in the Kindle platform, but aren’t happy about studying with it.  Complaints are mainly about the inconvenience of note taking and flipping between passages when compared to traditional books.

But these complaints aren’t surprising.  The Kindle isn’t designed as an academic tool.  The whole reason for its success is that it is an entertainment device, created for the purpose of reading books for entertainment.  The opposite would be something like the Plastic Logic, which was created explicitly for the business world with entertainment as a secondary goal.  Chances are, Amazon is planning something similar to the touchscreen enabled Plastic Logic, some sort of Kindle academic edition.  Touch screen would be the most obvious addition, but a school oriented Kindle will probably find other ways to innovate as well.  The pilot program means that Amazon now has tons of data explaining exactly what students need from an academic eReader.  I don’t see why Amazon wouldn’t use it.

There’s been a lot of talk about the Kindle’s potential death at the hands of the near-mythical Apple Tablet.  But it looks like the real threat may not be what people were expecting.  Microsoft has just unveiled the Courier, which is essentially their version of a tablet PC.

I have to say that, at the very least, it looks very cool.  Whether or not it will be part of a wave of change that destroys the eReader industry is yet to be seen.  As much as you may want to get your hands on one (I suggest you check out the video at the link above), the device only exists in prototype.  By time there’s a version of the Courier that you can actually buy, Apple will have probably gotten a foothold with their tablet.  Also, the technology Microsoft is demoing won’t be as whiz-bang amazing in the year or so it will probably take Microsoft to go to production.  By then all devices will be a little more fantastic then now, including eReaders.  This is like if Amazon demoed prototypes for a full color Kindle 3 before they could actually manufacture them at a feasible low cost.

On the other hand, Microsoft’s demo does demonstrate the idea that a multipurpose device would make an excellent eReader.  While the Courier is hardly designed to specifically read books, it does replace manage to replace lots of book like media.  The video shows the use of ‘journals’ you would write in and a daily planner analogy that somewhat mimics a traditional book planner.  The device is even shaped like a book, with two screens and a hinge in the middle.  It’s every pen and paper organizational tool you’ve ever used, only better.  This includes double screened eReading that very much resembles a traditional book.

Either Jobs is right, and eReaders will be replaced by devices like this, or eReaders will find a way to innovate and stay alive.  My guess is that the Kindle won’t die so easily.  Each generation will slowly pile on new features and at a price cheaper than a tablet.  This won’t work forever, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the Kindle someday evolves into some sort of Amazon owned tablet computer itself.