ereaders

On her way back from the airport the other day, our photo editor Sarah found a Kindle in the back seat of a New York City taxi cab. Being the honest person she is, she asked me if there was any way to get it back to the owner.

Well, it's actually not that easy to track down the owner of Kindle, especially if that person has a fairly common first and last name, as the owner of this Kindle does. We actually e-mailed him at the Kindle address that's registered to the device but it doesn't … Read more

The tech industry buzzes a lot about e-book readers. But how widely are they actually used?

Among 1,529 consumers who responded to a July 2009 questionnaire from research firm In-Stat, only 5.8 percent currently own an e-book reader. And only 11 percent of those questioned said they planned to buy one in the next 12 months, according to the In-Stat report released this week.

Those low results may be even more significant given that In-Stat's survey audience consisted of high-end consumers who typically adopt new technology earlier than the general public.

Another study released last week by … Read more

We're getting more details about that upcoming Asus Eee-book reader we told you about last month.

The company is looking at two versions: budget and premium, a spokesman for Asus in the U.K. told the Times of London.

But most intriguing is that at least one version of the reader, the higher-end one, would have a hinged spine, opening like a traditional book and closing into tablet form. This design would let users view the text of their book on one screen (turning its pages using the touch screen), while browsing a Web page on the other.

One … Read more

Claims that the Amazon Kindle electronic reader is more environmentally friendly than paper books hold up, according to an analysis by the Cleantech Group.

The research and media company drew on existing studies to do a lifecycle analysis and found that the carbon emissions from electronic books are far lower than traditional book publishing.

Taking into account the manufacturing and mining required to produce an electronic device still gives the Amazon Kindle a significant edge, according to the study which was done by Emma Ritch.

"The roughly 168 kg of CO2 produced throughout the Kindle's lifecycle is a … Read more

Get ready for an Eee-book reader. Word came Thursday of Asustek's plans to enter the hopping e-book market with an e-reader marketed under its popular Eee brand.

Company president Jerry Shen said Asustek plans to launch its reader by the end of 2009 at the earliest, according to Taiwanese publication DigiTimes, which notes that another Netbook maker, MSI, is also looking into the e-book reader market.

Asustek practically invented the Netbook market with its original 7-inch Eee PC, an inexpensive ultraportable laptop that debuted to huge media attention in 2007. Since then, the Eee label has appeared on larger … Read more

Another Amazon Kindle competitor has unveiled its plans for the future. And like Plastic Logic's e-reader, the device will feature Barnes & Noble's e-book store.

When Irex Technologies unveils its consumer e-reader later this year, it will include Barnes & Noble's e-books, Irex said in a statement Monday.

Barnes & Noble's store currently features more than 750,000 titles, and it expects that library of available titles to increase to more than one million within the next year. The full library will be available for download on Irex's e-reader.

That news followed a report earlier this month that Irex's new e-reader will sport an 8.1-inch touch screen and 3G wireless connectivity. The device's touch screen will be controlled with a stylus instead of a user's fingers.… Read more

So far, Amazon's Kindle has been in a safe position as one of the dominant electronic readers on the market. However, this may be changing because its rival, the Plastic Logic e-Reader, has been busy gaining prelaunch partners.

Plastic Logic, the start-up maker of the possible Kindle "killer" e-reader, announced Thursday that Olive Software will be a key service provider and partner for the Plastic Logic Publishers Program. The partnership means the two companies will develop content-publishing solutions for newspapers, magazines, and Web content providers, as well as other publishers that distribute their content via Plastic Logic'… Read more

OK. So we promised you on last week's episode that we would do a single-purpose gadgets episode this week. Turns out, promising that type of thing in advance isn't such a good idea as we actually had to work to find gadgets that fit the theme. So we made it, but admittedly by the skin of our collective teeth. It's all worth it for the segments, though. Patience, young grasshopper!

Sony responds to Kindle onslaught with Reader Touch and Pocket

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Ramen robot!

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This week in hello kitty Hello Kitty limited edition Casio Exilim EX-Z2

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PRETTY Bugatti Diva espresso machine inspires poetry

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Kill Me Sony’s new “Girlz Play Too” campaign

Pink Watch (Kill Me Edition) ChicBuds “by women, for women”… Read more

CNET's Donald Bell previewed the Zune HD and it brought him tears of joy. But the rest of us think it's about three years too late. We also debate the need for Google to get into the video codec game and whether you need a Pico projector in your camera.

Google acquires On2 video compression company http://gigaom.com/2009/08/05/google-on2-deal/ http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-10303488-93.html

…and sells off radio automation http://news.cnet.com/8301-1001_3-10303498-92.html… Read more