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Amazon Kindle 2 Leaked, Sony Reader To Get Touch Screen

Posted by Soulskill on from the upgrades dept.

suraj.sun writes with news that the e-book reader market is getting more competitive. The Boy Genius Report got its hands on pictures of the Kindle 2, successor to Amazon's first e-book gadget. The new version is a bit bigger, with edges that are less awkward, and it has a revamped key layout. On the same day these pictures were found, Sony announced that a new model of its Reader would be getting a touchscreen, allowing users to "turn the page by swiping their finger across the screen" and "annotate text using a touchscreen keyboard." The advances for each gadget may help them regain market share against the iPhone, which, according to Forbes, has eclipsed both in popularity as a reading device. Hopefully the competition for sales and the work being done by the OLPC Project will help to drop prices as well.

28 of 143 comments (clear)

  1. So... by DirtySouthAfrican · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Can I read run-of-the-mill letter-size PDFs on it yet?

    1. Re:So... by Tubal-Cain · · Score: 5, Informative

      The Sony Reader can. As can the Hanlin eReaderand many more

    2. Re:So... by Locklin · · Score: 3, Informative

      From the first link:

      Typefaces in PDF files formatted for 216 x 280 mm (8.5 x 11 inch) pages may be too small to read comfortably. Such files can be reformatted for the Reader screen size with Adobe Acrobat Professional, but not by Adobe Reader software.

      That's going to be the same for any 800x600 6inch screen (like the Handlin). A reader capable of displaying scientific papers readably (8.5x11inch, 10pt font) is still a wet dream unfortunately.

      --
      "Knowledge is the only instrument of production that is not subject to diminishing returns" -Journal of Political Econom
    3. Re:So... by thesandtiger · · Score: 4, Informative

      the only major benefit to the Kindle & Sony Reader are that they use e-ink displays which are viewable under direct sunlight.

      And that they don't drain battery life nearly as much as back-lit high-refresh rate screens do. And that they typically are much less likely to cause eyestrain.

      --
      Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
    4. Re:So... by lysergic.acid · · Score: 2, Interesting

      hrmm... right now i'm using Bookr (i used to run PSPDF, but i think that project is dead). but these are homebrew solutions that void your warranty, which a lot of consumers might be afraid to do. i just think e-book support would be a major selling point for a lot of potential PSP buyers (it's one of my favorite uses for the PSP).

      but the HTML method is a good solution too that i'd never even thought of. i might just develop a browser-based e-book library so that i can run the application on a local web server and browse my entire e-book collection via the PSP's browser. thanks for giving me the idea. =]

      i already have a lot of text/html formatted e-books from Project Gutenberg, and i know there are several PDF->HTML converters online. i just have to find an open source implementation or perhaps use one of the web-based services somehow.

    5. Re:So... by thesandtiger · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I don't disagree that they're pricey, but they're definitely worth it for a certain segment of the population, and not just limited to early adopters. I do a lot of traveling, and when I'm not I have about 3 hours/day of commute time to work via public transit. For me, the huge battery life is incredibly important, as is the ability to bring a LOT of reading material with me in the same small space. I absolutely hate the fact that my laptop won't last throughout an entire flight unless I bring extra batteries with me, and my phone only has enough juice for about 3-4 hours of display use (whether reading or doing other stuff with it) and I *really* don't want to land only to have my phone be out of juice when I need it.

      For me, it isn't just reading for pleasure that I use it for. I'm a researcher, and I've got a few hundred journal articles on my Kindle right now (along with the clippings from them I've made and my "margin" notes) and it's just incredibly useful to have. Yes, I can get that same functionality on a computer or phone, but not combined with the nice form-factor and extreme battery life.

      This isn't - yet - a mass-market technology. Just like laptops were originally so expensive that it only made sense to some people to buy them, e-readers are still expensive enough that most people couldn't justify the cost. Once they come down in price (and I have absolutely no doubt that in a few years we'll have sub-$100 devices that are at least as capable as the ones we have today) they'll really take off. Right now, though, you clearly aren't their market, but people in my circumstances are, as well as the early adopter types.

      One market the manufacturers need to focus on is the textbook market. If I'd had the choice when I first went to university of picking up a $500 widget and getting *searchable* electronic textbooks with days of battery life, I would have done it in a flash, even if I still had to pay roughly the same price for the books themselves. Tha market is huge. I could see a clamshell type of deal with 2 e-ink screens. One for the text, the other side for notes/search results/definitions or whatever kind of reference stuff the student would want to have there. Students already budget for laptops etc, this would just be rolled into the costs and would pretty much just be a marginal increase.

      --
      Since I can't tell them apart, I treat all ACs as the same person.
    6. Re:So... by wcb4 · · Score: 3, Informative

      I had a PDA that I used for reading eBooks, the Toshiba e805 with its beautiful 640x480 screen. The problems always seemed to be battery life (3.5-4 hours with screen set to near minimum brightness) so you really had to charge it every day, and distractions (real easy to get distracted while reading, go to look something up, then get distracted surfing the net). Because of this I bought a Sony PRS-505. No regrets. I bought a $2.50 book light, and guess what, I can read a night too. The screen is like reading paper in daylight. I charge it about once every 8-10 books.

      Before I bought it I could never manage to really find time to read for enjoyment, I got tired of carrying multiple books, so I welcomes eBooks, but I got tired of forgetting to charge the PDA every night.

      Great battery life, multiple books, looks great in sunlight and a cheap booklight makes it readable even at night. Great buy and as a dedicated reader its damned near perfect.

      --
      I reject your reality ... and substitute my own.
  2. Kindle 2 pics by Matt+Perry · · Score: 5, Informative

    Since the original link is slashdotted, you can find some pics here: http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-10058352-1.html

    --
    Slashdot: Failed Car Analogies. Amateur Lawyering. Anecdote Battles.
  3. Scrollwheel vs joystick by Therlin · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Wouldn't a scrollwheel be better than a joystick for the purpose of this reader?

    I had been considering purchasing one, now I wonder if I should hurry up and buy v1 before the new one comes out.

  4. Great, just what I need... by cavehobbit · · Score: 5, Funny

    "turn the page by swiping their finger across the screen" ...

    Leaving smeary, Cheetos marks across my books.

    Wait, that isn't really a change.

    1. Re:Great, just what I need... by Tubal-Cain · · Score: 2, Insightful

      At least you can clean this, unlike paper books.

    2. Re:Great, just what I need... by Zackbass · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Speaking of pages smeared with Cheetos marks, I can't wait until I can get a set of DnD books for the reader. PDFs get the job done on my laptop, but the form factor of the Kindle would be a real win.

      --
      You gotta find first gear in your giant robot car
  5. Count me in as an ipod touch reader by MarcoAtWork · · Score: 4, Interesting

    after being left in the cold by Sony with their librie (closed format, no fw upgrades to read pdf or epub) I will stick with my ipod touch and stanza, the screen is a bit small and not as nice as the librie's e-ink one, but at least I can read every format without issues and the integration with feedbooks is awesome.

    --
    -- the cake is a lie
    1. Re:Count me in as an ipod touch reader by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      Bwahahaha! Read a real book on the tiny ipod touch screen?! Seriously, how long do the batteries last? I guess you like reading extremely slowly too.

    2. Re:Count me in as an ipod touch reader by MarcoAtWork · · Score: 2, Insightful

      ? batteries on the ipod touch last about 5-6 hours of reading, and if you make the font small enough (and read landscape) you can fit about 1/3rd to 1/2 of a standard paperback page on the screen. I am a very fast reader (120-140 paperback pages/hour usually) and I haven't noticed any decrease in reading speed using the touch, it was more of an issue on the librie since changing pages took 0.5-1 seconds, which is an eternity.

      --
      -- the cake is a lie
  6. filthy screens by vlm · · Score: 3, Insightful

    "turn the page by swiping their finger across the screen"

    Only appeals to those whose laptop screens are encrusted with fingerprints. Ugh. Gross. I'm also not impressed with cellphones that accumulate a "face-print" on their LCDs.

    Yet another product that looks great until actually used. I'm sure the focus group loved it.

    Perhaps the target market is those folks whom still run their finger along underneath the words?

    It's like promoting the "quality" of HDTV to nation where 90% of sets have 1/4 inch of dust and pet hair and badly maladjusted picture controls.

    --
    "Science flies us to the moon. Religion flies us into buildings." - Victor Stenger
    1. Re:filthy screens by MightyYar · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I'm also not impressed with cellphones that accumulate a "face-print" on their LCDs.

      Maybe I'm a degenerate slob in your eyes, but I never found this to be a problem. When I need the screen for something, I just rub it on my shirt a couple of times.

      I mean, what's your alternative? Where would you put the screen on a phone such that it won't get dirty?

      --
      W..w..W - Willy Waterloo washes Warren Wiggins who is washing Waldo Woo.
  7. maybe the Sony reader would be more by antifoidulus · · Score: 3, Insightful

    popular if they had any decent books in their store or actually supported non-windows platforms. You would think that in the face of the growing popularity of the mac and the heavy competetion they are facing that Sony would try to expand it's potential audience, but we all know modern Sony rarely displays anything that could be considered logic...

    --
    Monstar L
    1. Re:maybe the Sony reader would be more by node+3 · · Score: 2, Funny

      That's why he mentioned the Mac and not Linux. Everyone knows Linux users thrive on being ignored...

  8. Kindle Design by psydeshow · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Ugh. The Kindle is one of the best-designed gadgets I've ever owned. I hope we don't suffer through a series of crappy re-thinkings based on some misplaced notion of hipness to try to sell readers to people who don't actually read books.

    For instance, a touchscreen is an incredibly lame idea. You spend a _lot_ of time with an e-reader, ok? It takes hours and hours to read a book. Are you really going to want to read the another novel on that screen you've been dragging your finger across for the last three months? Yuck. Not a mobile phone, folks.

    I was totally skeptical about the Kindle until I actually held one. It fits great in either hand, and unlike other readers I've seen you can use it one-handed. If you use your Kindle in the supplied leatherette case you're doing it wrong!

    The Sony reader looks nicer in photos but doesn't have the same kind of balance. I'll take function over form on something like this any day.

  9. Just rub the screen... by Joce640k · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Thing is, with a cell phone you only need the screen for a few seconds, you won't be trying to read text with no backlight for hours and cursing every single page turn.

    Still, it'll look cool in the marketing videos and that's what counts.

    --
    No sig today...
  10. Kindle and Sony have the same basic problem by sehlat · · Score: 3, Insightful

    They're single-purpose devices with closed formats in an increasingly multipurpose open-format world. Why would anyone in their right mind spend about $400 on a device that is locked to proprietary formats and doesn't do much else except "read books." Just one more [expletives deleted] gadget to carry around.

    On the other hand, smart phones like the iPod and Android, which can also presumably serve as schedulers, notepads, book readers, mp3 players/audiobook players and *gasp* phones?

    Kindle and Sony were effectively obsolete the day they were released.

    1. Re:Kindle and Sony have the same basic problem by JimMcc · · Score: 2, Insightful

      I can only assume that you are still young and have great eyesight. I've tried reading on small screen devices and either the font is too small to comfortably read, or too large so you get to read only a few sentences between "page flips". The appeal of the ebook readers is that they are legible and provide a good reading experience.

      However, the closed formats have got to go! When somebody comes out with an affordable device which will take a wide range of open formats, then there will be one in my hands.

    2. Re:Kindle and Sony have the same basic problem by Kattspya · · Score: 2, Informative

      As spoken by someone who haven't used any of them. With the possible exception of the kindle every one of the post librie e-readers handle what I'd call open formats (i.e. PDF, RTF and more). I've about 100 books on my Sony PRS-500 at the moment with the source being many different file formats (RTF DOC HTML TXT LIT) gotten over IRC. All of them have been converted to the Sony's native format with an open source front end (Calibre). So using any format as a source on the Sony PRS isn't a problem.

      As for the single purpose of the device it's for people who read a lot of books and like e-ink reflective screens and the battery time they provide. The only real problem with the PRS-500 is that the contrast is lower than I'd like (black on grey) and you need to avoid glare. Other than that I consider it superior to paper books. If you're not in the target group, don't buy one and wait for screen technology to evolve further.

  11. Why a keyboard, anyway? by rainwalker · · Score: 3, Insightful

    It's still not clear to me why precisely I want a hardware keyboard in my ebook reader. There just aren't a lot of reasons to interact with an ebook reader that can't be done with a couple arrow buttons.

    Frankly, the Kindle looks like a bargain-basement product, with an upper-tier price. Yes I know most of the cost is in the screen, I just wish it didn't look like crap. Also, open formats would be nice...

  12. Book prices are holding these back by Builder · · Score: 2, Insightful

    The PRS-505 launched in the UK recently, and I was all set on getting one until I saw the price of books for these things.

    When I buy a book from Amazon, it's delivered the next day and at least two people read it. The same titles as e-books cost the same amount on the Waterstones store, if not slightly more than on Amazon, and only 1 person can read them unless I shell out for a second reader. And in some cases, I was able to get new books from Amazon BEFORE they would be available on the Waterstones store.

    E-books have to be at least 30% less than their physical counterparts before I'll start buying them or a reader to read them.

    Of course, if I could find a decent site on the net I might be convinced, but I never managed to find one that caters to most of my reading tastes.

  13. Gutenberg project texts preformated for eReaders by BlackCreek · · Score: 2, Informative
    It took me some time to (re)find this link...
    This people will serve you Gutenberg project texts on a series of specific formats (or custom created PDFs or HTML). To the best of my knowledge, there is no other site like this.

    manybooks

    Pick a book. On the right side, you will find a button free download and some 500 formating choices (many custom, many gadget-specific).
    PS I have no relation whatsoever with manybooks, but I was horrified that it took me so long to find them again at Google).

  14. color... by jbgeek · · Score: 2, Interesting

    Hrm. I was hoping for color ePaper by now. I love the look of ePaper. I've played with the Sony reader and the Kindle and the displays look just like a piece of paper. So much more pleasant to read than an LCD or similar display! But was hoping for color by now.

    Sure, the average novel doesn't require color, but any book with illustrations, graphs, photographs or maps (as often found in Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels) would really benefit from color.

    I've followed the ePaper tech for a bit and I know color is being worked on. Once it's out, ePaper will be able to display just about anything which can be printed in a book or magazine (albeit with lower resolution).