The PRS-300 will be available in red, black and silver and has a five inch display with 440MB of internal storage (no expandable memory card slots). The PRS-600 will also be available in the same colors, but will also have a larger six inch touchscreen display, audio output, and MS/SD card compatibility with 440mb of internal storage. No lighting or wireless is mentioned in either of the service manuals, but we are NOT opting that out as a feature at this time until we get some sort of confirmation.
Spotted by our friends at BoingBoing: a funny video illustrating one of the major disadvantages of the Amazon Kindle (or any e-reader for that matter) versus its analog predecessor:
You mean you can’t re-sell books you buy via the Kindle? Oh noes! Yes, it’s truly a publisher’s dream – charging again and again for the same bits. Makes me wonder: what’s the book equivalent of The Beatles’ “White Album”?
It appears that the PR fallout from Amazon’s deletion of copies of “1984″ from users’ Kindles isn’t over yet. Amazon.com is now being sued by a high-school student in Seattle who had annotated his copy of “1984″ as part of a summer homework assignment. When Amazon deleted the student’s copy of “1984″, it also rendered the student’s notes worthless – and now the student is launching a class-action lawsuit:
We appreciate Amazon.com’s newfound contrition, but words are not enough, explained Jay Edelson, the lead attorney for the class action. Amazon.com had no more right to hack into peoples Kindles than its customers have the right to hack into Amazons bank account to recover a mistaken overpayment.
Indeed, the ability to remotely delete items from users’ devices potentially has dire implications on a free society. This lawsuit may have far-reaching effects on any network-connected device, and result in a clearer definition of users’ rights over their devices and content.
Is anyone at Penguin or one of those other “classics” publishing houses noticing this? While the quality may not be as good as a reader might normally expect, free is a pretty hard price to beat.
Samsung has lifted the veil on its formerly suavely-named Papyrus device to reveal: the SNE-50K.
Really, Samsung? Come on, what are you doing to me here? It sounds like a military weapon rather than an e-book reader.
The device is small (5-inch screen) and has a few unique features. In particular, the device features not only the ability to read documents, but also hand-writing recognition to allow users to enter information into the device.
And, not to be left out of a trend, the manufacturer is partnering with, Kyobo Bookstore Company, one of South Korea’s larger book stores. Hmm, now where have we seen that strategy before? [via CNet]
In an attempt to quell the outcry over Amazon.com’s deletion of illegal copies of “1984″ from their Kindles, CEO Jeff Bezos has taken to the Kindle discussion forum to offer a brief, if heartfelt, apology:
This is an apology for the way we previously handled illegally sold copies of 1984 and other novels on Kindle. Our “solution” to the problem was stupid, thoughtless, and painfully out of line with our principles. It is wholly self-inflicted, and we deserve the criticism we’ve received. We will use the scar tissue from this painful mistake to help make better decisions going forward, ones that match our mission.
With deep apology to our customers,
Jeff Bezos
Founder & CEO
Amazon.com
A nice gesture to be sure, but it still leaves many unresolved issues for customers. How will Amazon handle this type of situation in the future? What about other situations? If an organization wanted to suppress distribution of a book, will Amazon buckle? As the leader in the market, it’s Amazon’s duty and responsibility to tread carefully and answer these questions to the satisfaction of readers, authors, and publishers.
The rumors are true: Barnes and Noble is getting back into the e-book business. In an interesting move, the company is not only partnering with Plastic Logic but also adopting an “every device” strategy that will allow them to target multiple devices with the same book offerings. The company is kicking off this effort with B&N eReader software, which the company is making available for the iPhone, as well as a number of other platforms (including the Mac, PC, and BlackBerry).
The company has also released a B&N Bookstore iPhone App, which allows users to find additional store and book information. Of particular interest is the feature that allows a user to find more information on a book by simply taking a photo of the cover – a feature that is eerily similar to that offered by SnapTell. The same SnapTell that Amazon.com recently bought.
But the comparisons don’t end there: the availability of the eReader software mirrors Amazon.com’s strategy with its Kindle for iPhone application, as well its acquisition of Lexcycle, makers of Stanza (a popular iPhone and desktop e-book reader application). And all of Barnes and Noble’s bestseller e-book titles will be priced at $9.99 to compete head-to-head with Amazon (and thus add to the downward price pressure Amazon.com has exerted on publishers).
Clearly, the rush to dominate the e-book market is afoot. The only question is: who’s next to join the party?
It appears that the copies in question had been sold by an independent author using Amazon’s Digital Text Platform – Amazon’s platform for allowing any author to upload and sell books to Kindle users. It just so happens that one of those authors uploaded (and sold) copies of works by George Orwell that are not in the public domain in the United States (although they are in the public domain in Canada, Australia, and other jurisdictions). Authors are required to assert they have the rights to publish a book when they use Amazon to publish books for the Kindle, but apparently the publisher in question just plum forgot.
It’s oddly appropriate that it should be Orwell’s story of a dystopian future ruled by an all-seeing, all-knowing, all-controlling leader that is at the center of this latest development. Richard Stallman warned in his 1997 parable “The Right to Read” of a future in which those who control our computing devices would impede our ability to share experiences. This latest incident with Amazon only underscores the risk to readers: the book you purchased are not under your control.
The announcement shows the global e-book trend continues to grow and is attracting a bigger following in Chinese, the most widely used language in Taiwan. The service Eslite and Far EasTone plan to establish is similar to Amazon.com’s Kindle and e-book store. Far EasTone will also benefit from wireless downloads of e-books and other content to be made for e-readers.
Details are still thin on the ground, but it’s clear that Eslite Books is reading from the same playbook as Borders, and Barnes and Noble: find a partner to build the technology, and transition part of the business from physical sales to digital sales.
Here’s a clever way to take a stale publishing business and revitalize it using new technology: Freehand Music is the first publisher to begin publication of piano sheet music for the Amazon Kindle (the large-screen Kindle DX version specifically).
While the scores may appear a bit pricey at between $1 and $4 each, the pricing appears to be on par with the typical discount seen thus far for electronic books. [via Wired]
The rumors are true: Barnes and Noble is getting back into the e-book business. In an interesting move, the company is not only partnering with Plastic Logic but also adopting an “every device” strategy that will allow them to target multiple devices with the same book offerings. The company is kicking off this effort with B&N eReader software, which the company is 