Quantum Physics

I love this stuff! And, while it’s not related to eReader Devices yet, it will be and this article has explained a complicated process in a clear way making it easily understood. As the Author suggests, this will show up in gaming modules first and high-end devices, but will move down into the eReader market as it proves its merit.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8504373.stm

No Posts until February 8, 2010

No Posts until February 8, 2010 – off on vacation with the family.

Apple’s iPad

Credit-Apple.com

The iPad was announced yesterday; and it seems lackluster. 

It’s just a tablet; or as one Reviewer said, ‘it looks just like a big iPhone’.

I remember when iPhones launched, and I passed those off as ‘just another cell phone’.  Quite wrong.  They offered so much more than just a cell service, but that didn’t become apparent until people started playing with the units.  I’m hoping the same thing happens with the iPad.

Sure, it looks pretty; full LCD color and animated, Bluetooth with wi-fi or upgrade to 3G, voice over screen reader and more.  But how is it better? 

We’ll have to wait; wait until it gets into user hands and they start playing with the units and then see how the reviews and opinions change.  

How long?  60 - 90 days and we’ll start reading actual ‘hands-on’ experiences. 

Until then, I will be patient.

Link to Apple; http://www.apple.com/

Link to Apple iPad;  http://www.apple.com/ipad/

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The above is an opinion of the Authors.

Seniors and eReaders

I’ve looked at an eReader for the Seniors in my family, and at first pass, they have rejected the device.   Spending a little time with it, showing them how to change font size and the allure of multiple books, and still it’s a pass.  They’re just not into it.

Mind you, they’re also not into cell phones.  Yes, they do have them, but they are using them as though they were phones in 1930.  They yell, they can’t hear, they rush the caller, they only turn it on for emergencies…

The eReader’s changeable font sizes doesn’t entice them (‘I need glasses even on the large size’, one commented).  Carrying several books doesn’t appeal (‘I can’t keep the stories straight’, another said).  Mention that it needs charging and it gets shoved aside for using too much electricity.  Besides, they said, ‘it’s too heavy’.  Too heavy?  It’s lighter than a paperback…

It’s not the eReader they don’t like, it’s the change in experience; they want paper.  My Father likes littering the table with his newspaper, scanning the headlines with his magnifying glass.  Reading for him is an experience.   My In-laws prefer large, color magazines, word games, and cracking the spine on a new book to mark it as theirs.  They like the smell of ink and paper, they enjoy the texture of the paper under their fingers, the satisfaction of finishing that last page and closing the book. 

They like, what they like. 

But I’ll keep trying because that is the direction of Publishing, just like cell phones are the evolution of land lines.

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The above is the opinion of the Author’s.

All’s quiet with Apple

January 27th, that is the rumored date for Apple’s announcement of their Tablet.

What’s a tablet?

It’s like a laptop without the folding keyboard portion, so it looks more like a clipboard than a sideways book.  The keyboard is touchscreen, or you can plug a standard keyboard into the unit.  Tablets also recognize hand writing, so you can go the slow route and write everything long-hand.

Any-hoo, Apple’s Tablet is also rumored to support eBooks.  Which should be expected, as the iPhone is already well established in eBooks for their traveling customers.

Here are two links that talk about the expected Apple announcement;

BusinessWeek – http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/jan2010/gb20100125_946429.htm 

The Independent – http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/gadgets-and-tech/news/applersquos-tablet-is-a-media-and-social-gaming-revolution-in-your-hands-1878759.html

You can also go straight to Apple, but they’re not saying anything just yet – http://www.apple.com/hotnews/#section=all

Lastly, here are pictures from Google on what people anticipate the Apple Tablet to look like – http://images.google.com/images?q=apple+tablet&sourceid=ie7&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&oe=&um=1&ie=UTF-8&ei=D0peS_OfJYrQM7vioPsO&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=12&ved=0CC0QsAQwCw

It’ll be fun to see if ‘Rumor’ is right, and which picture is the actual ‘one’.

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The above is an opinion of the Authors.

eBook Organizer, software

OK, I was too fast with decrying the lack of eBook software out there – there are lots, just not lots for free, nor feature rich unless you want to pay.  The good news is, the cost is reasonable …

Here are two that I found, neither of which I use, so this is really only a cursory impression of each one;

This one is simple, has nice presentation for book covers with large images and also organizes your paper books – It offers at $14.95, http://www.myebookorganizer.com/screenshots.asp

Alfa eBooks offers at $19.95, and does pretty things with all those eBook covers like flipping them face-up as though you were browsing along a bookshelf.  It also captures and displays the entire book cover, front and back, so you can read the synopsis as though you had the physical book in your hands.  As an interesting addition, you can self publish (HTML).  It also sync’s with Google Books to update your Google Library, and between multiple computers.  Lastly, this is a robust software so users with a small collection of eBooks may not use all the features they are purchasing.  http://alfaebooks.com/products/alfaebookmanager/overview

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The above is the opinion of the Authors.

eReader Library Software

Not really much to say here as eReader manufacturers don’t provide information on the eBook library software that comes with the units; you get what you get. 

And yet, that software can make a difference in how satisfied you are with the device.  For example; the Sony eBook library software, looks easy. It’s a simple presentation of the eBook titles and some following data. However, try changing that ‘following data’, or manipulating it and its simpleness becomes very limiting.

I’ve abandoned it.

I use Calibre (a third party software), as that allows me to rate an eBook, write a quick review of that eBook, create my own categories and sort my eLibrary any which way I choose.

It also let’s me ‘translate’ an eBook from one format to another, and THAT protects me for future file format changes (like if I change from a Sony to a Nook, converting my eBooks will be easy – 2 clicks and some time.) I won’t render my previously purchased eBooks unreadable.

eLibrary Software is not really talked about, advertised, or even remarked upon when shopping for an eReader device, yet it has the potential to be very irksome and frustrating. As this market grows, so too will the third-party offerings to support your eLibrary and support translations, just as the digital camera market grew a healthy third-party photo managing market. 

For now there is no reliable source for information on eReader device library software packages, so you will have to accept what comes with your eReader and augment that, or not.

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The above is an opinion of the Author’s.

Links for eReader Devices

Just a few links for eReaders;

Wiki is a great place for many things, but their eReader site is no as organized as other entries, but it is expansive – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_e-book_readers

eBook88 is interesting, they even have an entry for a ‘Pepper88′ which looks more like a personal gaming device – http://www.ebook88.com/devices.html

And, eReader Guide, a great site it practically spoils you for choices – http://ereaderguide.info/?gclid=CJWa__fvtp8CFRUeDQod3HVKzg

Still only in Japan, Fujitsu FLEPia

Sorry, this is still only available in Japan.

No news on expanding the distribution.

The unit, if purchased in Japan, would run around $1,000 USD.  AND, the user interface is Japanese, the manual is Japanese and any User Support would be local to Japan (in Japanese). So, you’d better be comfortable with the Language.

Why only Japanese? So Fujitsu can de-bug in a closed environment, so they can refine the technology, gain economies of scale, develop eBook file formats that support color. But that’s just me, Fujitsu has not explained their closed distribution to date. 

I’ve read several opinions that argue color is unnecessary, and they are right. Books are printed in text, black on white, no color. The covers are color, riots of color; but the text, the bulk of the book, is monochrome.

So, why then is color asked for? Because we are attracted by color, we pay more attention to things that have color, we remember book covers by their color. How many books have you gone looking for while murmuring ‘yellow and red, yellow and red,’ or whichever combination it was?

Color is important, and in eReaders it seems to be a race between developing color e-ink (passive, no glare) and low-level LCD (reduced eye strain, but still a risk).

For now, the only choices are two; full color e-ink of the Fujitsu FLEPia, and the dual screen, e-ink + color band (like the Nook).

I’d like to see Fujitsu win the race, but that again, is just me.

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Link to Fujitsu FLEPia, Hands-on, 2010, http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/07/hands-on-with-fujitsu-flepia-color-e-book-reader/

Link to Fujitsu FLEPia, Review, 2009, http://www.epapercentral.com/fujitsu-flepia-color-ereader-launched-hype-or-the-real-deal.htm

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This article is an opinion of the Author’s.

© alias Hubbaloo and www.Hubbaloo.wordpress.com, October 2009, to Date. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to alias Hubbaloo and www.Hubbaloo.wordpress.com with appropriate and specific direction to the original content 

iRex iLiad, YouTube

This is a good review of the iRex iLiad – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxUnY9eD4xM&feature=related