So begins what I expect will be a deluge of LCD based tablets. It only makes sense: LCD is the most established technology for a portable display. Using anything else decreases capabilities and increases costs. You may see them in devices soon, but it will be years before alternative displays from Pixel Qi and Liquavista become cost effective enough to be placed in budget devices.
This isn’t unique to the iPad of course: college bookstores (and, in turn, the colleges that own them) make a ton of money on new and used book sales every year. How can we, as digital content solutions providers, provide incentive to switch to digital content while not putting existing cash cows out of business?
I read a while ago that Kindles have been a pretty popular option for small aircraft pilots in the cockpit due to their ability to hold huge amounts of maps in a single place. Bringing the iPad into the mix only makes sense. How long before this makes the jump to full commercial airlines?
An ereader with an LCD screen? That’s unpossible!
I was really excited about the Plastic Logic devices when they debuted at CES, but two years to wait for a color screen? It’s going to have to have some monstrous battery life to fend off a 2nd or 3rd year iPad… and the iPad already has monstrous battery life.
Students give the Kindle DX a mixed bag of reactions again: Darden Business School users overwhelmingly concluded that the DX is bad for academic use, but would recommend it for personal use.
What say you, Kakai?
Ignoring the sensationalist headline from TechDirt, the fact that Amazon is collecting user generated data on their devices isn’t all that shocking. There are a few technical reasons why they would do this, the simplest of which is the most innocent: if you lose your device and have to restore all of your books, your notes and highlights get restored at the same time.
Of course, the “popular highlights” feature dashes my hopes for the innocent explanation. Can someone dig through the Terms of Service to reveal what else Amazon does with the data you create on your device?
The British get all the cool stuff.
I do not understand why everybody is so shocked that Android outsold iPhone OS last quarter. It seems like a no brainer to me. Here’s why:
Look at those numbers two quarters from now. I guarantee the iPhone will be well back on top.
This eBookNewser article is about how the growing Android market share is good for the ebook offerings on that platform. That’s true, but all of the major ebook distributors have apps on all desktop and mobile platforms, making this particular sales blip completely moot. Bring on the next iPhone!
Barnes & Noble wasn’t kidding when they said that software improvements to the Nook, it seems. After a buggy launch they updated their firmware once to increase speed, but a new firmware update released today adds a whole bunch of new functionality, like the ability to read for free if you’re connected to the wifi in a B&N store.
These are the kinds of free upgrades ereader manufacturers need to be making more of!
