You may not have heard of Astak, but it's one of several non-name-brand companies that are jumping into the e-book reader space with a range of new models, including the 5-inch EZ Reader Pocket Pro.
While this model is smaller than the Amazon Kindle, which has a 6-inch screen, we actually like the size of the Pocket Pro and other 5-inch nontouch-screen e-readers, such as the Sony Reader Pocket Edition (PRS-300). This model, like the Sony, has a list price of $199, so it makes sense to compare the two units, especially since both models have Adobe Digital Editions compatibility, which allows you to read downloadable e-books in the secure ePub format that's increasingly becoming the standard--outside of Amazon's Kindle--for online e-booksellers.
So, is it any good?
Read the full review of the Astak EZ Reader Pocket Pro to find out.
After watching Amazon make huge headway in the e-book self-publishing game with its Digital Text Platform, Sony is finally making a real push into this area with a new Publisher Portal and partnerships with self-publishing companies Smashwords and Author Solutions.
While Sony stressed that the portal was for large and small publishers alike, it is clear that the company is targeting the announcement at independent publishers.
"New authors can select a self-publishing path and get their work published and for sale on Sony's eBook Store in as little as 10 days," Sony representatives said. "As Sony completes the conversion of its eBook store to the industry-standard EPUB format, Smashwords and Authors Solution will expand the offer to all existing Author Solutions and Smashwords authors to get their titles up on the Sony site."
Author Solutions, one of the larger self-publishing companies, with several brands under its umbrella offers a full suite of self-publishing "services," most of which are fee-based. Meanwhile, start-up Smashwords is focused exclusively on e-book creation and sales, and it is free to use (you simply upload a Word file, make some tweaks to your formatting based on a style guide, and presto, you have an e-book).
According to Sony, Author Solutions and Smashwords will offer authors the option to publish content in the EPUB format, "the International Digital Publishing Forum's XML-based standard format for reflowable digital books and publications." Amazon, on the other hand, uses its proprietary e-book format.
This is obviously good news for self-publishers. When it comes to e-book stores, Sony may not have the traffic that Amazon does, but it certainly offers a large customer base of avid readers interested in e-books.
I just posted a new episode of CNET Top 5 dealing with the Kindle e-book reader. With Amazon rumored to be announcing a new Kindle next week, I figured I'd take stock of the things I'd like to see them change in the next version. I've had a Kindle for more than a year and there are definitely things I love, but there are also most definitely things I hate.
So please give the video a look-see and then if you have your own ideas for what Amazon should change in Kindle 2.0, go ahead and post them in the comments section here. Who knows, maybe Jeff Bezos will stumble across them and make last-minute tweaks. I know. He won't. But it'll make you feel better to get it off your chest. Trust me.
Last month Boy Genius Report got its hands on some photos of what appeared to be the Kindle 2, so speculation was rampant that Amazon would release a new Kindle for the holidays. However, Amazon has continually denied it would have a new Kindle in 2008, and it seems clear that no new device is imminent. Today, though, Crunch Gear, which put out the original rumor on the Kindle 2, is now saying that it has it on good authority that the Kindle 2 will show up early next year.
Crunch Gear's founder Michael Arrington writes, "It was scheduled to be released in October in time for this holiday season, but Bezos himself reportedly pulled the plug for last minute changes to the software. Our sources now say it's tentatively scheduled to go on sale in 'early next quarter.'"
Crunch Gear turned out to be wrong last time, but the good news is everybody's expecting this thing to come out early next year, so chances are Arrington's probably right--or at least tentatively right. And heck, it doesn't take a Boy Genius to figure out that a Kindle 2 (and maybe even a Kindle 3) will come out in 2009.
What's a little lost in all this is that people haven't been all that impressed with what they've seen from the leaked images of the Kindle 2 (if it is indeed the Kindle 2). On the surface, it doesn't seem to be that much of an improvement over the original Kindle, but perhaps Amazon has been able to lower the price on the unit and add features we don't know about.
In the meantime, Sony's $400 PRS-700 Digital Reader is now available for sale. Our review is due to post shortly, and while the new Sony is sleeker than the Kindle, has a touch screen, and plenty of other other improvements, a couple of screen issues prevent it from truly giving the Kindle a run for its money. Perhaps if Sony really had a Kindle-killer, Bezos would have been more aggressive about releasing a new model.*
See, this whole speculation thing is easy. Please feel free to comment.
*Correction: As a reader points out, the Kindle is sold out through the holidays and Amazon isn't,"sitting on a ton of Kindles it has to move during the holiday season" as I originally suggested.
After rumors surfaced on the Web a few months back that a new Kindle might be on the way, Amazon.com did its best to shoot them down, saying a new Kindle was not coming this year. Well, Boy Genius Report has gotten a hold of some photos that appear to be the Kindle 2, so we're curious what Amazon has to say now.
From the looks of the new device, Amazon has tried to address some of the criticisms of the Kindle, most of which revolve around its somewhat homely design and a few poorly placed buttons. The shape has been modified to make the new Kindle more attractive, but it appears Amazon is sticking with the same off-white color scheme--for better or worse.
The Boy Genius Report's mole or "ninja," has some comments about the new Kindle. First, ninja says the device is basically the same size as the older model, but is thinner and has "a slightly heavier feel, and it feels much sturdier." The source indicates the new model uses the same cellular EV-DO network for downloads (it's Sprint's network in the current model) and a metal back is visible in some of the pictures. I particularly appreciated the look of the new leather carrying pouch for the device, since I don't like the existing Kindle's protective case. There are more photos here.
Boy Genius Report also notes:
As far as buttons go, on the right side, the bottoms from top to bottom are: Home, Next Page, Menu, a joystick, and Undo. On the left side, there's Previous, Page, and Next Page. We're told the buttons are significantly smaller, to avoid accidental page turning. The joystick takes the place of the scroll wheel and it "takes a little getting used to." As far as the redesigned keyboard...it "has a good layout, but lettering on the keys could be darker." Continuing our tour around the unit, next to the sliding sleep button, there's the headphone jack, and on the right-side edge you've got the volume up/down buttons. What's interesting (and you can see this in the photos) is that the backside of the unit is mostly metal, with the speakers at the bottom of the back. One more plus? They've finally ditched their own charger. The Kindle 2 can be charged with a miniUSB cable.
No word on when the next-generation Kindle will arrive, whether there will be a European model, or how much it will cost. However, I have a feeling we'll soon get an announcement from Amazon--if indeed this turns out to be a real product that will go up against the upcoming Sony Reader, the PRS-700, which features a touch-screen display and will hit stores next month in time for the holiday buying season.
As always, feel free to post your comments. What do you think of the design of the alleged Kindle 2? And how much do you think it will cost?
The Irex 1000 line: Kindle of the future?
(Credit: Irex)Gizmodo posted a blog Monday on Irex's new line of "digital readers" and took a few whacks at the company for over-promising and under-delivering.
You see, Irex, which developed the full-featured but pricey Iliad reader, recently ran a little online teaser ad that alerted the world that, "A new era in digital reading" was set to begin on September 22. Well, the blogger at Gizmodo wasn't impressed with what Irex is now offering up: a series of three 10.2-inch monochrome e-ink displays that start at $649 for a base "read-only" model (the Irex 1000) and go up to a high-end 1000W that has a touch screen along with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity. That model, when it's released later this year or in early 2009, will set you back a whopping $849.
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