e-books

Amazon Kindle: Wait for the sequel?

Amazon has announced its entry into the eBook reader category with Kindle.

It's not in many people's hands yet or mine (CNET's reviewers have some first impressions), so these will have to be preliminary remarks. But I can say that I find it a schizophrenic device and hard to understand what it is trying to accomplish in its current form. It's easy enough to see where it's going, but ambition seems to have got ahead of what Amazon could actually deliver in the near term, and the ambition was not updated for reality. As a … Read more

Amazon Kindle: Hands-on first impressions

The slow drip of rumors and leaks about the Amazon Kindle e-book reader exploded into a full-blown flood over the weekend, once it was revealed as this week's Newsweek cover story. Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos filled in all of the remaining blanks (or most of them, anyway) at this morning's New York press conference that officially introduced the product to the world. Some relevant details, finally confirmed:

Measurements: The Kindle weighs 10.3 ounces and is about the size of a trade paperback book. It's both taller and thicker than the Sony Reader.

Connectivity: The … Read more

Amazon debuts Kindle e-book reader

NEW YORK--"Why are books the last bastion of analog?" Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos asked an audience at New York's W Hotel in Union Square as he unveiled Amazon Kindle, the online-retail giant's new electronic book reader.

"Books have stubbornly resisted digitization," he elaborated. "I think there's a very good reason for that, and that is, the book is so highly evolved and so suited to its task that it's very hard to displace."

Indeed, with the launch of Kindle, Amazon is hoping to succeed where hardware companies like Sony … Read more

Amazon to debut Kindle e-book reader Monday

Amazon is betting that e-books aren't a total e-bust.

On Monday, the online retail giant will unveil its Kindle e-book reader at a high-profile event in New York, an industry source told CNET News.com Thursday. Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos is expected to be present for the announcement, to be held at the chic W Hotel in Union Square.

The Kindle is equipped with a Wi-Fi connection that taps into an Amazon e-book store, which users can access to purchase new electronic books--and Amazon has reportedly signed onto a deal with Sprint for EVDO access. Additionally, the device … Read more

Amazon to introduce Kindle e-book reader on November 19?

Amazon's long-awaited--and somewhat anticipated--Kindle electronic book reader may finally get its official introduction on Monday, November 19. At least that's the strong sense I got from a conversation I had earlier today with a PR rep inviting me to an Amazon event here in New York on the 19th. When I asked whether the product was the e-book reader, he wouldn't say (he gave me the usual "you'll have to show up to find out"). But since the Kindle was due to be announced back in October, it seems safe to assume, this is … Read more

How DRM can help education

DRM and electronic books could help lower college educational expenses while at the same time improving the health of students.

Here's why: the economics of textbook publishing are broken. There's a reason that an introductory biology textbook costs $125 new, and it's not because it's printed on high-quality paper using a special 12-color press. It's because when the student is done with the book, he or she sells it back to the campus bookstore, or to another student. The publisher is thus deprived of recurring revenue on the title. So it raises book prices, heaping … Read more

eBook evolution marches on

The publisher Hachette Book Group USA, a member of the International Digital Publishing Forum (IDPF), has decided to go with the digital publishing organization's recommended standard for distributing books in digital format.

Starting with its December 2007 launch titles, HBG plans to release its bestsellers in the .epub eBook format, the company announced Friday.

The .epub is an XML file format for reflowable digital books that includes Open Publication Structure (OPS), Open Packaging Format (OPF) and Open Container Format (OCF).

Hachette claims to be the first book publisher in the U.S. to adopt the .epub format. It also … Read more

Flipping through the pages of Google Books

Editor's Note: This review has been updated to include new information.

Once upon a time, there was an idea to electronically, immediately read and search major literary works online.

This is how Google Books first entered public consciousness, as a tangled controversy between publishers who feared copyright infringement and Internet enthusiasts championing Google's momentum to search everything.

Liberating information is good, those publishers said, but not at our expense. Not so, replied Google, who promised it could increase awareness for niche publishers, protect copyrights, and create opportunity for greater sales all while promoting a valuable public service.… Read more

E-book site for students promises to save trees, money

Every June, I am as elated as the next student to have a three-month respite from the confines of school. But, come August, you can find me on Amazon.com, frantically buying an inordinate number of books for every class--in many cases, more than two books per class.

Naturally, my curiosity was stirred upon hearing about a new project from CafeScribe, launched by Salt Lake City-based Fourteen40. The program allows users to buy and download electronic textbooks online. That's nothing particularly groundbreaking, though it could save me some neck and back problems if it cut down on the pounds … Read more

Adobe Digital Editions: First Look

Adobe's Digital Editions lets you manage your e-book collection with large icons taken from the book covers, an uncluttered interface, and the ability to create playlist-style "bookshelves." Released for both Windows and Mac, the iTunes-style management might just help make e-books the Next Big Thing.

In this First Look video, take a quick tour of the app from its unusual install process onward.