Sony's new Reader close to greatness, but a bit too dim - E. Plastic Logic Home. New Scientist Technology Blog: Dual-display e-book reader lets y. Dual-display e-book reader lets you flip pages naturally E-book readers like the Kindle may be getting better, but still fall short of the usability of paper books. You can't turn or flip through pages, or compare different documents as you would with paper. A new prototype with two displays can do all that - as the video below shows. The two leaves can be opened and closed to simulate turning pages, or even separated to pass round or compare documents. When the two leaves are folded back, the device shows one display on each side. Simply turning it over reveals a new page.
If you can't see the video, click here. It was developed by researchers at Maryland and Berkeley Universities, both US. A paper on the prototype was presented at the CHI08 conference, and can be read here (pdf). Tom Simonite, online technology editor Labels: gadgets, video. Welcome (Future Of Books) Sunday Salon: Reading on the Kindle. Two weeks ago, my sister brought an Amazon Kindle electronic reader for me from the States (I live in London, UK). Since then, I haven’t gone a day without using it and obsessing over it by reading every mention of it via my RSS feed subscriptions. It is quite possible that I spend as much time reading comments and reviews of the Kindle as I do reading material on the device itself! What I’ve read on the Kindle thus far: The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch and Jeffrey Zaslow Currently, this book is only available in hardcover, audio CD, and Kindle formats.
If I didn’t have the Kindle, I would have waited until the paperback version and by that time, would have probably forgotten all about it. So would I recommend the Kindle to other people? If you travel frequently on public transportation or take longer trips, get a Kindle. If you move frequently, especially to different countries, get a Kindle. If you sometimes struggle with font size, get a Kindle. 18 Comments » Want to Buy a Kindle in the UK — Significant Figures. You’ve obviously been dwelling in a parallel universe if you haven’t heard of Amazon’s electronic book device, known as Kindle. Find out more about the device on the amazon.com site or Google the blogosphere for reviews and critiques. In case you have been elsewhere, Kindle is a portable, wireless device that should give you access to 90000 books, blogs, and newspapers, almost at the tap of a screen, if you can find somewhere to buy one, that is.
But, just try getting your hands on a Kindle in the UK. According to Phil Bradley (no relation, other Bradleys are available) aside from the fact that Kindle is sold out on the .com, Amazon has some serious international issues under its .co.uk address where Kindle the wireless book is not even mentioned. This is nothing unusual for an electronic device.
When I bought a video camera in the UK a few years back, I discovered the only way I could connect and use it for digital transfer to and from my PC was to do a hardware mod. The Radiologic Appearance of Acute Kindle-itis. If possible, my life has just become even geekier. As of 4 days ago, I am now the owner of a Kindle -- Amazon's new digital reading device. I am not a digital book newbie. I have read books for years on my Palm -- usually in the form of bedtime reading. I have to say that a Palm screen is not the most exciting way to read a book. I was intrigued by the Kindle when it first came out, but was put off by the fact that it sold out in 5 hours and remained out of stock for months. -- for my son last year, I wasn't eager to go through that process again. What changed? Was, at long last, actually in stock, I decided to take the plunge.
Along the way, my interest had been further piqued by Andy Ihnatko's revelatory column on the Kindle: It's About More Than Just Waffles. For a more visual argument for why you should consider getting one of these gadgets, the following 9+ minute video by Andy Ihnatko may do the trick. "This is the least Apple-like, least iPod-like, cool piece of techology made. " Text. Andy Ihnatko's Celestial Waste of Bandwidth (BETA) » Kindle. An edited version of this column first appeared in The Chicago Sun-Times on November 29, 2007. So here’s what Amazon went and did. Metaphorically, they invented a humanoid robot capable of autonomous action.
Every morning at 4 AM, it gets in your car and drives all over the state, buying fruit, milk, butter, eggs, and other staples straight from the farm. By the time you wake up and trudge into the kitchen, there’s a steaming plate of waffles waiting for you, made from scratch and topped with fresh-picked strawberries and whipped cream. It’s one of the most awesome consumer products ever. …And Amazon is promoting it as a $399 waffle maker. I mean, yes: the $399 Kindle is indeed a swell electronic book reader, as advertised.
But really…you couldn’t care less about the waffles. 1) The wireless connection isn’t WiFi. 2) The Kindle also includes…a web browser. 3) This browser works great with the mobile editions of Google Reader and Bloglines. Deep breath, now: Wow. It feels historic. Truly. Amazon Kindle Review. By Robert Mohns (May 5, 2008) [Disclaimer: This review reflects the personal opinions of Robert Mohns, a freelance reviewer, who has no financial interest in the product. However, if you choose to purchase a Kindle through a MacInTouch link, then this website will receive a small commission as part of the Amazon partnership noted on our home page. Our reader reports offer additional non-biased discussion of the product (both pro and con), and feedback is always welcome via our contact page.]
Introduction What is it? Six months ago, Amazon introduced a new product, called the Kindle. In a nutshell, the Kindle is a compact, electronic book with instant wireless access to 115,000 books sold by Amazon, an audiobook player, and a wireless Web browser. What Kindle isn't Kindle is a device designed specifically for reading text. And despite running Linux under the hood, Kindle is nothing like a PC or Mac. What's it for? For $399, Kindle gets you access to Amazon's instant wireless bookstore. Design. Amazon Kindle The Definitive Guide - Includes Kindle tricks acce. Kindle: Amazon's New Wireless Reading Device. Kindle: First Impressions. Everyone at Amazon’s Kindle press conference (which I liveblogged earlier today) received one of the electronic book readers.
I played around with mine while I was waiting to interview Jeff Bezos. My initial impressions: It is not as clunky as the FCC picture made it out to be, but it still has an odd retro feel. A mod, over-sized, calculator from the 1970s comes to mind. It is much lighter than a book and comfortable to hold. Everything else (other than the text on the screen) is white, which is supposed to help make the device “disappear” so that the reader does not get distracted by anything other than the words on the screen, but it seems like a nod to the original white iPod.
The Kindle does take some getting used to. The screen is amazingly readable, as long as you have a light source (just like with a regular book). The keyboard does not feel fast enough for me in terms of responding to my fingers. But Amazon must be taking a big hit up front on this.