ereader

What the next Kindle will look like

After Barnes & Noble unveiled its Nook Color e-reader recently, I got a few e-mails from folks asking me what I thought Amazon.com was up to and whether Jeff Bezos had some sort of color device up his sleeve. I'd written an article a few months back about a possible Amazon Android tablet and they wanted to know whether they should opt for the Nook Color or wait for an Amazon tablet. Did I know if a Kindle Color was coming soon?

Well, for starters, I don't think we'll see a color e-reader from Amazon this year--or probably anytime soon. I think Amazon really sees the iPad as its color e-reader of the moment. A lot of people are using the Kindle app on the iPad (and iPhone), even though Apple has iBooks. Of course, Barnes & Noble also has a Nook app for the iPad, and Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Kobo want their customers to know they can tap into one of these platforms from a variety of devices and share e-books across those devices. I can't tell you what percentage of iPad owners are using the Kindle app to shop for e-books, but I'd guess it's a fairly large number, judging from my informal poll of colleagues and friends and my own use (I rarely use iBooks and have both Kindle and Nook accounts).

Barnes & Noble has been smart enough to price its "reader's" tablet at $249, which is pretty reasonable. However, while that's half the price of the entry-level iPad, the fact is that Apple is still going to sell a ton of iPads this holiday season and Amazon will be quite content to have those buyers download the Kindle app. After all, it's much easier to deal with software than hardware, and if you have the design geniuses at Apple serving up the hardware for you, it's a win-win. Next April, Apple will have a new iPad--presumably with a better screen--and despite Steve Jobs saying the company wasn't doing an iPad Mini, there's still the distinct possibility of a smaller iPad, perhaps with a 7-inch screen.

So if Amazon appears willing to let others do much of its hardware dirty work for it, what's the road map for Amazon-branded Kindle devices? … Read more

Barnes & Noble unveils Nook Color

Last week, CNET broke the story that Barnes & Noble would be introducing a $249 Android-based color e-reader for the holiday buying season. That product, the Nook Color, has just become official, with Barnes & Noble showing off the new device at a press conference at its flagship Union Square store in New York City today.

After a picture of the Nook Color was leaked to CNET, the biggest mystery surrounding the product was what type of screen it would sport. As we anticipated, the screen is a 7-inch touch-screen LCD, and not something more exotic like a color e-ink or a Mirasol display, which won't be available until next year. Barnes & Noble told CNET that this is a next-generation LED-backlit display supplied by LG, which is bright yet energy efficient. The product's designers added a special layer of laminate to the glass that covers the display to help cut down on glare and improve off-axis viewing.

A lot of people wondered whether this would be classified as an Android tablet, and while the device does run on Android 2.1 (it will be upgradeable to Android 2.2 next year) and offers additional functionality such as Web browsing, audio and video playback, and some basic games, Barnes & Noble is spinning it as a "reader's tablet." The Nook Color has built-in Wi-Fi but no 3G, and comes with 8GB of internal memory, plus the capability to expand capacity via a microSD expansion slot tucked into the bottom of the device near its "corner slot."

Here are its key specs:… Read more

Has 3D TV jumped the shark?

Links from today's episode of Loaded:

Sony drops the price of the PSP Go

Borders' Kobo eReader gets a price drop too

Sprint will sell the Samsung Galaxy Tab starting on November 14

The "Rachael Ray Show" is doing a 3D Halloween special

The CNET TV iPhone App is out

CNET partners with NPD Online Research to create a consumer panel where you can tell us what you think about electronics

A color-screen Barnes & Noble Nook is expected to be announced today

HP Slate out and about

Links from Friday's episode of Loaded:

The HP Slate is available now and we have an in-depth look at it

Google TV seems to be blocked by ABC, NBC, and our parent company CBS

The Barnes and Noble Nook will go on sale at Wal-Mart this weekend

FaceTime for Mac may jeopardize your passwords

Microsoft announces Games for Windows, a PC gaming store

Source: New Nook is Android-based, full-color

Is the upcoming Nook a color e-reader? Barnes & Noble doesn't comment on rumors, but CNET has been in communication with a source who says the company will unveil a new Android-based full-color touch-screen e-reader next Tuesday, October 26.

According to the tipster, who wishes to remain anonymous but has proven reliable in the past, Barnes & Noble's new e-reader will be called the Nook Color, have a 7-inch screen, and retail for $249.

The tipster said the entire company has been focused on this product and that "it's a big step ahead, instead of chasing … Read more

Pandigital introduces second Novel e-reader

After getting off to a shaky start with its first e-reader, a color reading device called the Novel, Pandigital is taking a second stab with a monochrome e-ink model that has built-in Wi-Fi, a touch-screen interface, and a direct link to the Barnes & Noble eBookstore. The Novel 6-inch Personal eReader carries a list price of $200, but we suspect that the street price may be slightly less when it ships later this month.

Here are the key specs:

6-inch ePaper electrophoretic display (made by Sipex/AUO) with 800x600-pixel resolution and 16-level grayscale Measures 6.75 inches long by 4.… Read more

Sony's PRS-350 e-reader just misses greatness

In 2009, Sony was one of the few digital reader manufacturers to release a model with a 5-inch screen--an inch smaller than the standard 6-incher found on the Nook and Kindle. Now the same model--the Pocket Edition--is back in a sleeker, more compact package, and with more internal memory (2GB). Just as importantly, it now sports a touch-screen interface along with the new higher-contrast E Ink Pearl display found in the latest Amazon Kindle and Kindle DX.

That the PRS-350 Pocket Edition Reader, which weighs a mere 5.64 ounces and measures a very compact 5.71 inches tall by … Read more

Hands-on review of the Kindle 3

Just as Apple's iPod wasn't the first MP3 player, Amazon wasn't the first company on the block to release an e-book reader--NuvoMedia's RocketBook and the early Sony Readers all beat the Kindle to market. But it's hard to argue that the online retailer's Kindle isn't the iPod of the e-book reader market. The Kindle has helped usher the e-book reader from gadget curiosity to a burgeoning mass-market device, all in less than three short years.

And now, amid a much more competitive market, Amazon is debuting the third-generation Kindle.

The first thing you … Read more

B&N launches Nook app for iPhone

Links from Tuesday's episode of Loaded: India threatens to block BlackBerry Adobe moves on from Apple Barnes & Noble e-reader apps Windows Phone 7 Xbox Live games China Unicom gets iPhone, iPad