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2 Other good eInk eBook readers on the way by VGfort · 2006-07-03 10:41 · Score: 1 · on iRex's iLiad E-ink eBook Reader is Now Available

Sony Portable Reader and the Jinke Hanlin v2 are other good alternatives soon to be released here is a comparison of them all. I'm personally thinking of getting the Hanlin v2, its got a good price, will come with a SDK, runs Linux and I dont have to worry about Sony's Rootkit or other sneaky stuff they might do.

Expensive, 2 seconds per page flip, no backlight by lonesometrainer · 2006-07-03 06:51 · Score: 4, Informative · on iRex's iLiad E-ink eBook Reader is Now Available

Even for an early adaptor this thing is disappointing.

1. VERY expensive, Euro 649 (that includes VAT over here) for a black+white ebook reader. I'm come on... Please leave the WLAN out next time.
2. VERY slow, VERY slow. Page flipping sometimes takes 2 seconds, sometimes 3-4. That's bad for a newspaper, but it's simply unusable for a technical documentation where you're searching for specific parts, etc.

see mobileread.com for videos.

3. No backlight, I (as a consumer) don't care wheter that's realizable or not, but I would like to have some sort of backlight. Yes a book doesn't have a backlight, too. But my books at least don't cost 650 Euros.

Nice is: a 1024x768 resolution, everything else is not usable for my purposes.

I'm waiting for the next generation.

websites about ebooks by bbc · 2006-03-10 06:47 · Score: 2, Informative · on eBooks - What's Holding You Back?

There are two websites about ebooks and the portable devices to read them on, and I am mentioning them here because they delve much deeper than Slashdot generally does: Mobile Read and Teleread.

Disclaimer: I am a Teleread contributor.

Re:Any other vendors besides Sony? by antek9 · 2006-02-21 13:26 · Score: 2, Informative · on Digital Books Start A New Chapter

Sony's libriE and their new reader run Linux as well, it has been hacked: http://www.gvu.gatech.edu/ccg//people/dan/software /librie.html, there is at least one freeware text converter available: http://www.mobileread.com/forums/showthread.php?t= 2544, and it all looks rather pretty: http://www.makezine.com/blog/archive/2005/06/sony_ librie_hac.html.

Re:Project Gutenberg by bbc · 2006-01-10 10:20 · Score: 1 · on Sony Reader Taking Hold?

"Or maybe wait until someone besides Sony makes something comparable."

Someone like Philips or Jinke perhaps?

Re:I'll prefer the iLiad by iRex/Philips... by bbc · 2006-01-10 09:39 · Score: 1 · on Sony Reader Taking Hold?

I'd prefer to wait with my opinion until the Sony Reader, Jinke Hanlin and Philips Iliad are all available, so that I could compare the three. Still, it would be pretty unlikely that I would go with the product of a known lawbreaker like Sony. Who knows what they have in store this time?

Re:No Pocketpc code by siliconjunkie · 2005-08-30 08:54 · Score: 1 · on Opera Turns 10, Gives Away Free Registrations

Opera Mini: HERE

You will need a Java Midlet Manager for PPC. I used the WebSphere Everyplace Micro Environment, which worked very well for me. You can get it HERE. After going to that page, you will need to set up an account with IBM. On the download page, you will need to get "WebSphere Everyplace Micro Environment 5.7.2 - MIDP 2.0 for Windows Mobile 2003 2nd Edition" (this works for Win Mobile 2003 1st edition as well, you should *NOT* grab the "Windows CE4.2/XScale" version as it does not include the .CABs you need, and does not run MIDlets properly).

Despite being Java-based, Opera Mini performs MUCH faster than Pocket IE and Minimo on my iPaq 5550 and also has a VERY cool method for scaling pages. Even Slashdot is usable at 240x320 using Opera Mini.

All restrictions of DigitalTextbooks.com: by AlexanderT · 2005-08-10 05:56 · Score: 1 · on Textbooks With EULAs

Other pretty restrictions offered by DigitalTextbooks.com, via MR:

Textbook is locked to the computer where you downloaded it from;
Copying and burning to CD is prohibited;
Printing is limited to small passages;
Unless otherwise stated, textbook activation expires after 5 months (*gasp*);
Activated textbooks are not returnable;
Buyback is not possible.

Dedicated to e-Books by Anonymous Coward · 2005-04-02 23:46 · Score: 2, Insightful · on Seeking a Good eBook Reading Device?

Interesting topic! You might want to browse through Mobileread which is discussing the pro and con of e-books and e-book devices in every possible way.

Me too by trawg · 2005-04-02 14:20 · Score: 2, Informative · on Seeking a Good eBook Reading Device?

I bought an Ipaq 4150 to read ebooks on, and I've been using it a lot recently. The screen is ok, but I don't really Windows CE + MS Reader - the software leaves a lot of wasted screen space, so the amount of words on screen per page is a lot lower than I would like - I'm constantly pressing the next page button (as a comparison, a Neuromancer-sized ebook works out at pages).

I got the chance to check out the Sony Librie last year in Japan and was hugely impressed with its screen, using that new e-ink jazz. I checked it out again a couple days ago and read some reviews; unfortunately its still not available outside Japan, which is a pain (worked out around US$250 I think to import one).

I've only ever seen one displaying Japanese books, so have no idea if it can even display romanji, or what it would look like. They take Sony Memory Sticks, which is a bit annoying (but to be expected), and apparently the ebooks are all in some annoying DRM format as well (but clever people have already figured out how to make software to convert to the format, so if you're lucky enough to have a non-DRM'ed library you can just convert your .txt files, or whatever.

The only other alternatives that I've found (haven't looked too hard as my iPaq is bearable at the moment) are dedicated ebook readers which have their own pitfalls (quite expensive considering that's all they do, use their own proprietary DRM formats, not able to read other common formats, etc) and more advanced iPaq-type devices (some of the newer iPaqs have high-resolution screens, plus the ability to use MS Reader in landscape mode, which I would definitely prefer), but I', not prepared to part with the $$$ at this point.

Re:Efficiency? by aztektum · 2005-01-23 07:14 · Score: 1 · on Wireless Power Recharging Nears Fruition

I found this article you should read. It will clarify what it is they're really talking about.

Enjoy!

How they try to justify the decision... by AlexanderT · 2005-01-18 21:37 · Score: 3, Insightful · on German Library Allowed To Crack Copy Protection

The official press release states that, "Das Urheberrechtsgesetz sieht so genannte Schrankenregelungen vor, nach denen der Zugang zu urheberrechtlich geschützten Werken zu bestimmten Zwecken, wie zum Beispiel für wissenschaftliche und kulturelle Nutzungen, zulässig ist. Die letzte Novelle des Gesetzes, deren einschlägige Regelungen im September 2004 in Kraft getreten sind, sieht hierfür ausdrücklich die Möglichkeit von Vereinbarungen zwischen Verbänden vor, um diese Nutzungen auch von kopiergeschützten Medien zu ermöglichen."

I think they are referring to this particular revision in the German copyright law, which apparantly states that associations such as the Phonographic Industry have the right to allow particular institutions, such as the National Library, to duplicate copyright-protected media (for the sake of science and culture).

Alex,
MobileRead.com