Before you rush out and buy a kindle this xmas have a read of this http://www.reghardware.com/2011/11/19/kindle_fire_google_apps/ it tells of a user discovering how locked in to the amazon ecosystem he was after buying a kindle fire. you have been warned!
Archive for the ‘ebook’ Category
Kindle fire a users tale
Thursday, December 1st, 2011South Korea moving to digtial text books by 2015
Wednesday, July 6th, 2011South Korea announced this week that it plans to spend over $2 billion developing digital textbooks, replacing paper in all of its schools by 2015. Students would access paper-free learning materials from a cloud-based system, supplementing traditional content with multimedia on school-supplied tablets. The system would also enable homebound students to catch up on work remotely.
The digital textbooks will contain the contents of ordinary textbooks and various reference resources such as multimedia and FAQs to help students understand the materials better. The government also wants to build a cloud computing system in all schools, so that users can access a database of all digital textbooks and choose what they want from their tablet PCs.
Kindle 3 test drive
Friday, June 24th, 2011So I stumped up the €150 euros for a kindle, Why did i buy it? Well I needed to read PDF’s on the move and I didn’t want the hassle of printing them off. I bought the wireless version not the 3G version, as I didn’t think i needed to buy a book when I was out in the sticks as I won’t read books that quick! So how is it going with the kindle… Well not too bad, its ok for PDF’s but the screen is actually too small for PDF’s so a bigger screen is the way to go here. I’ve shown it to a few people and every one thinks that they need to touch it, as they think its an Ipad like device. I think it needs touch too, but at the price point, I don’t think you can get to a touch screen. the e-mail doc delevery system is really good, so I can see this working in a big way, and its a nice way to send docs to a device, no need for messy cables etc. and its free through wifi
lending an ebook versus a book
Wednesday, March 23rd, 2011Well amazon, may have tried to put the kibosh on lending ebooks, they have revoked Lendle‘s access to the API, but have reinstated it. So we can all go back to sharing ebooks. I haven’t used this service myself, but it seems to be limited to 14 days and you can only lend once, unlike a traditional book which you can lend continually! I think its a nice idea, but I not sure if it will get off the ground, if there is a prospect of the main book sellers loosing money off it.
in some US liabarys HarperCollins Publishers has apparently set its e-books to expire after 26 rentals — effectively giving them around a one-year shelf life, 2 weeks * 26 giving you a year, but with a standard book, I lasts longer than 1 year normally, Why is data different, or maybe some one is trying to make money out of this!
I think the e-book story has a long way to go… My two cents anyway.
E-book sales double
Monday, March 21st, 2011Spotted this interesting tippet in engadget ebooks seem to be hurting the market, so is it worth buying one of these ebook readers, well I’m in the holding off bracket at the moment… Why?
Well, I like pictures, and there doesn’t seem to be any color in these devices, we are at the stage where black and white TV’s were 40 years ago, and we don’t see any black and white TV’s any more, cause Color trumps Black and white.
So I’m waiting? I hear you say! and then I hear you say… “you’re going to be waiting for ages”, well we do have colour e-paper devloped so I’m putting my money on Amazon releasing the colour version of the kindle some time just before xmas this year. They just have to make sure that they can get the price point down to the right levels, probably about €200 to get it to fly off the shelves.
, paper books suffer double-digit losses


We doubt the world will ever get to a stage where it’ll completely ditch ye olde paper books, but the US consumer market seems to clearly have its heart set on the electronic kind right now. Net ebook sales in January were this week reported to have accumulated $69.9 million in revenue for their publishers, which amounts to a 116 percent jump from last year’s total for the month. During the same period, adult hardcovers were down 11.3 percent to $49.1 million and paperbacks faced a similar reduction in demand and fell to $83.6 million, a precipitous drop of 19.7 percent year-on-year. Educational and children’s books weren’t spared from this cull of the physical tome, either — skip past the break to see the full statistical breakdown.
Samsung Galaxy S II Mini leaks out for Three, plus Nokia X7, Flyer and PlayBook release dates in UK
No, not the Galaxy Mini, that low-end Android sprout — this looks like Samsung’s smaller alternative to the upcoming Galaxy S II superphone. We just got handed UK carrier Three’s entire spring-summer lineup, and the Android 2.3 handset certainly stands out, pretending to be miniature in spite of a 3.7-inch screen (think Droid), a 1.4GHz processor (think Pre 3) and 21Mbps HSPA+ connectivity. But that’s the tip of the iceberg compared to what’s in store for Three — it looks like the Nokia X7 is alive, well, and tracking for a June release (not to mention the LG Optimus 3D), and tablets will drop too, with May bringing the HTC Flyer and the WiFi-only BlackBerry PlayBook launching in June. See specs and slated launch windows in our gallery below, and join us in hoping these documents portend a rapid US release.
[Thanks, Anonymous]
AT&T agrees to buy T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom for $39 billion (update)
Wowzers! AT&T and Deutsche Telekom have entered into a definitive agreement for the sale of T-Mobile USA for $39 billion in cash and stocks. The combined customer base of this upcoming behemoth will be 130 million humans, though the agreed deal will have to pass the usual regulatory and closing hurdles before becoming complete. The two companies estimate it’ll take them 12 months to get through all the bureaucracy — if they get through, the proposed network merger will create a de facto GSM monopoly within the United States — but we don’t have to wait that long to start discussing life with only three major US carriers. AT&T envisions it as a rosy garden of “straightforward synergies” thanks to a set of “complementary network technologies, spectrum positions and operations.”
One of the other big benefits AT&T is claiming here is a significantly expanded LTE footprint — 95 percent of Americans, or 294 million pops — which works out to 46.5 million more than AT&T was claiming had it gone LTE alone. Of course, T-Mobile has never put forth a clear strategy for migrating to LTE, suggesting that AT&T plans on using the company’s AWS spectrum to complement its own 700MHz licenses as it moves to 4G. You might be groaning at the thought of yet another LTE band, but it’s not as bad as you might think: MetroPCS already has a live LTE network functioning on AWS, so there’s precedent for it. For further details, hit up the gallery below, the Mobilize Everything site, or the official press release after the break.
In the event of the deal failing to receive regulatory approval, AT&T will be on the hook for $3 billion to T-Mobile — a breakup fee, they call it — along with transferring over some AWS spectrum it doesn’t need for its LTE rollout, and granting T-Mo a roaming agreement at a value agreeable to both parties.
Update: TmoNews obtained a copy of Deutsche Telekom’s press release regarding the deal — it looks like the German company will be getting $25 billion in cash and $14 billion in stock, giving it an 8 percent stake in AT&T when all is said and done. Read the full document after the break.
HTC Arrive now available for $200 from Sprint (update: $50 at Amazon)
It’s March 20th and, right on schedule, Sprint has started taking orders for its first Windows Phone 7 handset. The HTC 7 Pro, renamed the Arrive on the Now Network, can now be had for $200 after rebate when bought with the customary two-year contract. Amazon’s doing its usual thing of undercutting carriers’ own pricing by offering it up for 50 greenbacks less at $150, and we suspect other online retailers will follow suit. So affordability shouldn’t be a problem, but if you’re still wondering if the investment will be worth it, we’ll have our review of this handset early next week — just before Sprint makes it irrelevant by blowing the doors off CTIA.
[Thanks, Justin]
Update: That was quick, Amazon’s dropped its price to just $50.
Intel promises next-gen Atom chips at IDF Beijing

Mini E field trial ends, for the 40 testers a search for a new car begins
People who love a given car tend to keep that car for awhile, longer than they should sometimes, but that isn’t always an option. Sometimes you have to give it back, and such is the case for the 40 “pioneers” who were among the first to get their mitts on and bums in the electric prototype Mini E in the UK. That fleet of test vehicles has been summoned back home, but thankfully not to suffer the same fate of the recalled GM EV1 — most of which were crushed in the ’90s. Instead, most of these Minis will find new homes among corporate vehicle fleets, though the testing program itself is largely over. From that program BMW learned that most drivers got along just fine, despite a complete lack of public charging stations, though some said cold temps put a crimp on the driving habits — a possible counterpoint to one EV Mini tester on this side of the pond found. All that data is being used to tailor the upcoming BMW i3, which we’ve already seen hooning around in some rather frigid weather but won’t be seen hooning on public streets until 2013 or so.
Gates, Bosch, and NuVinci combine to make pedal-assist e-bike concept, not Voltron
There’s those who want electric bikes that’ll hurtle you down the road at 40mph at the twist of the throttle, and there’s those who believe pedaling to be enjoyable enough, but would like a less strenuous bicycling experience. If you find yourself a member of column B, listen up, because Gates, NuVinci, and Bosch have created an e-bike concept that’ll satisfy your two-wheeled transportation needs. Gates supplied its Carbon electric belt drive, NuVinci brought its N360 infinitely variable planetary hub, and Bosch threw in a battery and control system to make a bicycle beauty. The power train is set up to give riders pedal-assist with four settings that go from Lance to lazy, depending on your mood. At an estimated cost of €2,600 – €3,200 ($3,680 – $4,530), you’ll need a bank account comparable to the seven-time champion of Le Tour should an OEM pick up the design.
Sneak peek at Archos Gen 9 tablets: 1.6 GHz dual-core A9 processor, 250GB HDD for €400 in June
Word on the street was Archos planned to give us a couple of new tablets at IFA this year, but it turns out the upscale Gen 9 hardware is coming a couple months prior to the September trade show. The new Honeycomb slates are set for a June 2011 release and pack a 1.6GHz ARM A9 dual-core chip (the prospect of which should get you spec-heads drooling), up to a 250GB HDD / 32GB SSD, and a patent-pending “disruptive 3G modem” — all for €400 (about $566). Archos’ fiendish plan is to steal some of the iPad 2’s thunder with its speedy processor and competitive price, but history tells us it’ll need more than “competitive” to truly yank any marketshare. Too bad the post-PC world can’t be bothered to care, right Steve?
INQ Cloud Touch gets priced in the UK, still MIA in the USA
We’ve had an affinity for INQ’s Cloud Touch since we Poked and prodded the little device back in February, and now thanks to Carphone Warehouse we’ve got the all important pricetag to accompany the specs. Starting April 6, you’ll be able to pick up the Facebook-ified device in the UK completely SIM-free for £300, or about $486. Not a bad deal for a 3.5-inch Android 2.2 handset with a 5-megapixel shooter and a custom Facebook homescreen. Of course, it lacks the Facebook Buttons of HTC’s offerings, but if you simply can’t wait to be the first person on the block with a Facebook phone you should definitely give the Cloud Touch a peek.
Microsoft and ASUS show off all the stylish stylus action you can have on an Eee Slate (video)

It’s the year 2011, but it might as well be 2001. The company that Bill built is still going strong in the pursuit of its founding father’s dream: a pen-based tablet computer. The latest, and perhaps best, exhibitor of this ideal is ASUS’ Eee Slate, a 12.1-inch, Core i5-equipped Windows 7 tablet that comes with a Wacom digitizer and a dedicated silo in its side for accommodating that snow-white stylus. A Bluetooth keyboard also comes in the box, leading Microsoft to describe it as a device that’s simultaneously “very PC” and “not very PC.” To understand what the Redmond brainboxes mean by this apparent case of doublethink, make your way past the break and soak up all the video action.
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63%
25%
Browser share as reported in Jan, 2009.
Microsoft’s Internet Explorer slipped a bit, but still holds almost 63% of browser share, with Firefox claiming 25%, Chrome 4.63% and Safari nabbing 4.46%.
