GadgetReview

That’s a strange thought to wake up to, isn’t it?  Well, it turns out they’ve got reason.  Read on:

Words like “clunky”, “slow”, and “a real pain” have come up, as students trying out the Kindle DX in classes are discovering that the ereader may not be the replacement for overpriced textbooks they’d hoped for.

One student found it awkward to hold down the “alt” key every time he wanted to type in numbers.  Since the Kindles have no page numbers, but rather, “location numbers”, students requiring source documentation find themselves typing out huge location numbers rather than simple two or three digit page numbers.  Plus, anyone working out of a regular book will be utterly lost by the Kindle’s location numbering system and be unable to crosscheck the reference without a Kindle of their own.

More suggestions emerged, citing that the Kindle needed page numbers, but also asking for improvements to note taking and highlighting.

So, okay–maybe the Kindle isn’t an academic’s dream gadget just yet.  But there’s every possibility that it will become so in the future.

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So there’s been an announcement that Best Buy means to sell the iRex book reader to compete with Amazon’s Kindle, among numerous others.  It’ll cost a whopping four hundred bucks, but come with an eight inch touchscreen (8.1, actually), connect to Verizon Wireless networks, but while Verizon itself is open to connecting other e-readers through its networks, it’s not willing to sell the iRex in its own stores, at least for the time being.

This is probably the best move Verizon can make, even if it isn’t exactly good news for Best Buy.  However, even Best Buy can get away with a little piggyback advertising with “Verizon’s network”, and of course, the first mover advantage will be a big help for the iRex.

Keep your eyes front, folks–this could be a real donnybrook, with plenty of new players moving for the Kindle market.

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It’s not every day that you hear that Sony is in the business of making any of their gear affordable, but today, the company officially introduced two new e-readers that are priced very competitively.

First up we’ve got the Reader Pocket Edition (PRS-300), and like its name implies it’s built to slip into your pocket, sort of.  It rocks a 5-inch (800 x 600 resolution) e-ink screen and is available in navy blue, rose or a silver finish.  It can store up to 350 standard eBooks and keep the pages turning for up to 2 weeks on a single charge.  It will retail for a ground breaking – Sony’s words, not mine – $199.

Next in line is the Reader Pocket’s big brother, the Reader Touch Edition (PRS-600).  And yes, you guessed correct. This version boasts a larger 6-inch (800 x 600 resolution) touchscreen that allows pages turns at the swipe of a finger.  There’s an Oxford American English Dictionary that can be called up just by tapping on a word as well as a stylus and built-in keyboard for taking notes.  And to make sure Sony doesn’t engineer themselves out of success, they’ve installed a Memory Stick slot as well as an SD card slot for expansion.  The Reader Touch Edition comes in red, black and silver and will retailer for $299.

Both eReaders will go on sale this August and will be available at Sonystyle.com as well as Best Buy, Costco and other major electronic retailers.  Unfortunately, neither one appears to have a wireless solution and both include 512mb of built-in storage.

Full release after the ‘leap’ …Continue reading: Sony Turns Heads With Two New eReaders: The Reader Pocket Edition & Reader Touch Edition

Let’s face it, colleges and the publishers are making a killing selling books to college students.  Plus by the time you get done lugging around 50lbs of paper for 4 year you need back and neck surgery to correct your misaligned spine.  So what am I getting at?  Why hasn’t Amazon already gotten into this market and some how subsidized the cost of the kindle through a subscription based system?  Perhaps it’s those money sucking colleges – have they blocked blackballed Amazon?  Yes, the same ones that willingly provide your information to credit card companies as if you weren’t in enough debt from school loans.  No official details as of yet, but one analyst claims to have gotten the word from Amazon’s management team that they’re building a stripped down version of the Kindle e-book reader.

[Vnunet]