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.
The Kindle has even more competitors.
(Credit: Amazon)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.
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Barnes & Noble is offering some e-books too.
(Credit: Screenshot by Don Reisinger/CNET)Barnes & Noble on Monday announced that it's getting back into the e-book market. The company said in a statement that its new e-book store has more than 700,000 books for sale--far more than the 300,000 books available for download from Amazon.com's Kindle store.
Similar to Amazon's strategy, Barnes & Noble e-books can be downloaded directly onto an iPhone or iPod Touch. They will also be integrated into Plastic Logic's upcoming e-reader, which is expected to hit store shelves sometime next year.
It's an exciting announcement for the retailer. The company tried once before to break into the e-book market. But by not providing an easy delivery method to help users read the books, it failed in 2003.
Going forward, Barnes & Noble believes that it can compete on the same level as Amazon, which has enjoyed a head start in the space. But just how can it get ahead in the market? The Kindle is available to users now, Amazon has its own e-books available on the same platforms to which Barnes & Noble books will be made available, and both companies are known and trusted in the book market.
As far as I can tell, those 700 Barnes & Noble locations are the only factor potentially giving it an advantage. But can brick-and-mortar stores really cement success for Barnes & Noble's e-book endeavors?
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Amazon is bringing the Kindle to all kinds of devices.
(Credit: Screenshot by Nicole Lee/CNET)Amazon.com CEO Jeff Bezos spoke on Monday at the Wired Business Conference, discussing his company and the future of the Amazon Kindle.
After discussions on Google Book Search and other topics, Bezos sprinkled in a few tidbits of information that could have a lasting impact both on the e-book business and the tech industry as a whole. According to Bezos, he plans to break the Kindle business into two parts: hardware and software.
Amazon's e-books are already available on the iPhone. Users who want to access titles can download the Kindle app and buy books from Amazon's store. But Bezos wants to do more. He believes that the path to success is through sharing e-book technology with competing hardware makers.
"The device team has the job of making the most remarkable purpose-built reading device in the world," Bezos said at the conference. "We are going to give the device team competition. We will make Kindle books, at the same $9.99 price points, available on the iPhone, and other mobile devices and other computing devices."
It might be the smartest move Amazon has made yet.
... Read moreAlthough some people see a reason to buy a device just to read a book, I don't. Some have said that Amazon's Kindle is the savior of the e-book market. I don't believe it. Others say that e-book readers will kill the book publishing industry and bring it into the 21st century. I think that's rubbish. The fact of the matter is e-book readers will never have commercial relevance.
So I know what you're probably thinking -- "But, didn't the AP release a story yesterday that said Amazon's Kindle may have 'revolutionized the e-book market'?". Yep. But if you read between the lines a bit, you'll find that an important piece of the pie is missing -- no one is willing to say how strong sales are and so far, the tiny e-book market is still extremely small.
And although the market may be growing at an extremely slow pace as some have claimed, there's no indication that anyone wants these toys. For years, the book has been a vessel of knowledge and entertainment for people and I simply don't see how a small piece of plastic can change the connection people have to holding a book, flipping the pages and marking notes on the paper.
Simply put, the idea of an e-book reader is fundamentally flawed.
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