Portable Ebook Reader

Plastic Logic recently demoed their portable ebook Reader at the Wall Street Journal’s All Things D conference near San Diego. They surprised a lot of attendees by giving everyone a *free* Plastic Logic Reader. This device won’t be available to the general public until Jan 2010, but apparently Plastic is determined to build the hype early.

Here’s a video showing a demo of the Reader at the conference:

And here’s a list of some of the features that we were able to gather from different sources:

• A screen that’s larger than 10″ - wow!
• Extremely light-weight and thin
• Touchscreen (like the Sony Reader PRS-700)
• 3G wireless capability (like the Amazon Kindle 2 and Kindle DX)
• The devices will be able to “beam” documents back and forth between each other (we’re guessing via BlueTooth or maybe IR)
• WiFi support
• Ability to scribble and add annotations
• Very long battery life
• Native support for many Microsoft Documents and PDF files

The price is currently unknown but many sources are saying it will likely be more expensive than the Amazon Kindle DX - that means greater than $500!

The target market is reportedly “mobile business professionals” according to Plastic Logic’s Director of Marketing, Maureen Mellon. Their CEO went on to say, “Everything is designed for the business user, and business users require a lot of different types of content. It’s really not about books at all.

Hmmm…sounds like it’s designed more to be a business document, magazine, and newspaper reader, rather than for novels or ebooks.

One apparent flaw that the media is jumping all over, is that it takes 4 seconds to turn pages, although in the video above you can clearly see that it takes less than that. Plus, the public release isn’t for 8 months so I’m not sure why everyone would make such a big deal out of a work-of-progress.

For more info on the Plastic Logic Reader:

• A detailed article - TG Daily
• Many, many pictures - LaptopMag

Popularity: 3% [?]

For you Amazon Kindle 2 owners, here’s a list of many tips & tricks that you should find useful. These were compiled from many sources - let us know if any of them aren’t as helpful as we think!

Access Free eBooks @ Amazon

1. After you sign into Amazon and choose the Kindle store to search in
2. Type “-domain” (no quotes) into the search field.
3. This will give you a list of free books offered by Amazon!

Helpful Shortcuts

1. Bookmark: Alt-B. Alternate: Press 5-way up or down to go to cursor mode, and then press 5-way twice.
2. Kindle Store: Alt-Home.
3. Top Screen Icons: Press Menu button to see Wireless Network on top of the screen (top right), Time on top of the screen (top center) and Memory Remaining on your Kindle 2 on Top of the screen (top left).
4. Screenshots: Alt+Shift+G. Hold down Alt and Shift buttons and then press G.
5. MineSweeper: Alt+Shift+M.
6. Refresh Screen: Alt-G to refresh the screen and eliminate Ghosting.
7. Reload in Web Mode: Alt+R = reload when in web mode

Restart Kindle 2 in Two Seconds

1. Go to the Home Page.
2. Press the Menu button to go to the Menu.
3. Navigate to Settings and press 5-way to go to Settings.
4. Press Menu button Again.
5. Navigate to the Restart option, and press 5-way to select it.

Navigate within Magazines and Newspapers

1. 5-way controller to the left = previous article.
2. 5-way controller to the right = next article.
3. Press the 5-way = A list of sections within the periodical will appear.
4. On this Sections List page = Selecting the Number to the right of the Section Title will take you to a list of Articles within a section.

Read-To-Me Shortcuts

There shortcuts can be used with the “Text To Speech” functionality:

1. Shift + Sym button to start and to stop TTS. You have to keep Shift pressed down and then press Sym.
2. While TTS is on - Use Shift button to Pause or Resume it. Note: this might be Space (spacebar).
3. While TTS is on - you can switch between male and female voices, and change voice speed by using Alt + Aa keys and then using the 5 way controller.
4. To start TTS at a particular place on a page, move the cursor to the spot BEFORE starting TTS.

Mp3 Player Shortcuts

1. Alt+Space = play or stop background audio.
2. Alt-F = skip to the next audio track.
3. Space - starts or pauses an audio book

Change Spacing & Number of Lines Per Page

By using the Alt+Shift+ numbers 1 through 9 buttons you can change the spacing between the lines on the Kindle 2 and also the number of lines per page.

1. Press down the Alt and Shift buttons.
2. Keeping Alt+Shift pressed, Press a number button like 1, or 2, right up to 9 to cycle through the various spacing options.

Delete an Item or Book from Your Kindle 2

1. Press the Menu button to go to the Kindle 2 Home Page.
2. Use the 5-way to go to the item you want to delete.
3. Press Left on the 5-way to bring up the Delete selection.
4. Press the 5-way to confirm that you want to delete the item.

Note: Books you have purchased are still available in the Archive selection even after deletion you can reload them!

Load Pictures onto your Kindle 2

1. Connect Kindle 2 via USB to your PC.
2. Go to the Kindle 2.
3. Create pictures folder on your Kindle 2.
4. Now create sub-folders for your photo albums.
5. Put in images into these sub-folders.
6. The images that you put into a sub-folder will become part of the photo album.
7. Unplug your Kindle 2 and go to the Home Page.
8. Press Alt-Z on home page to see photo albums among books.
9. When you select one of these photo albums, the experimental Image Viewer starts.

Picture Viewing Tips

While you are viewing pictures in the Image Viewer:

1. Zoom In on the Picture = Q key.
2. Zoom Out = W key.
3. Reset Zoom Level for the Image = E key.
4. Toggle Picture to Actual Size = C key.
5. Toggle Picture to Full Screen Mode = F key.
6. Pan Photo if its larger than the Kindle 2s screen with 5-way controller.
7. Rotate the Image = R key.

Text Entry Shortcuts

These are helpful shortcuts when entering Text -

• Alt-6 for question mark ?
• Alt-7 for comma ,
• Alt-8 for colon :
• Alt-9 for quotation marks
• Alt-0 for single quotation marks

Change the Default Dictionary

You can change the default dictionary used by Kindle 2 from the New Oxford American Dictionary to another Kindle 2 supported dictionary, such as the Merriam Webster. Please check before buying any other dictionary as it might not be supported.

1. First, press the Home button to go to the Home Page.
2. Press the Menu button.
3. Move the 5-way to underline Settings and press 5-way to select.
4. Press the Menu button.
5. Move the 5-way to underline Change Primary Dictionary and press 5-way to select.
6. Move 5-way to select the dictionary you want as your primary dictionary, when its underlined press 5-way to select it.

Navigate Through the Home Screens Pages

1. Jump to page x on the Home Screen Press the number x on the keypad and then press the 5-way.
2. Also you can use the Next Page and Previous Page buttons to circle through the pages.

Search Shortcuts

These shortcuts can be used while using search (simply enter @help in the search box) -

• @help will show a list of supported commands.
• Instead of pressing your 5-way on find you can move the 5-way right to bring up other search options i.e. Kindle Store, Wikipedia, Google, Dictionary, etc.
• @author Narrow a search in the kindle store to a particular author by using the authors name.

Recharge your Kindle Battery when it’s at 20%

1. You can re-charge your Kindle 2 battery at any time, without using up its life. There is no memory and there is no let it drain completely before charging rule.
2. You should maximize by re-charging your Kindle 2’s battery when it’s at 20% charge left. The worst thing you can do is let the battery completely drain out.
3. Do not recharge it to full every day. The battery is happiest in the >20% charge, <80% charge range (close to 80% is better than close to 20%).

Popularity: 20% [?]

It seems that Amazon has really been stepping up their portable ebook reader game in the last few weeks. They’ve gone from two Kindle releases over a 1.5 year period to announcing something major every week or so. That’s quite a turnaround!

Here’s some of the recent developments from Amazon:

• Kindle DX - This was an expected but still huge announcement on May 6, 2009. It’s the largest ebook reader yet and the first ever to incorporate an accelerometer device, so pages are automatically rotated between portrait and landscape, simply by turning the device.

• Kindle for iPhone v1.1 - Amazon recently released a new version of this popular app which is available from the iPhone App Store. Some of the notable new features include:
  • Pinch screen to zoom images within books
  • Read in landscape or portrait mode
  • Select alternate text colors and backgrounds to improve reading comfort in low light
  • Tap on either side of the screen or flick the screen to turn page

• Amazon Encore - Amazon has joined the “publishing” industry. They’ll reportedly be publishing authors who are currently doing it themselves and are showing promise. Amazon has obviously realized that there’s tons of money to be made in publishing, especially with a lot of their future competitors going under.

• Kindle Publishing for Blogs - Amazon is now allowing bloggers to sell their blogs to Kindle owners through the Kindle Store. This is huge news for web marketers and content publishers as it provides a simple method for generating income from their labors of love.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Many people have been asking lately -“Which is a better choice for me, the tried-and-true Amazon Kindle 2 or the brand new Kindle DX?”.

Well…today we plan on helping you answer that question!

The Kindle 2 is Amazon’s 2nd generation Kindle device and was released on February 23, 2009. It had many improvements over the original Kindle, but due to its smallish size, it was still not ideal for reading larger print media like newspapers or magazines.

Amazon’s solution to this problem came shortly after, with the May 6, 2024 announcement of the Kindle DX. It has a much larger screen (2.5x the size of the Kindle 2), can natively display PDF files, and is the first Kindle device to come with an accelerometer so pages can be viewed in either landscape or portrait by simply rotating the unit. (If you’re familiar with the Apple iPhone or iPod Touch, these also come with an accelerometer.)

Note: The Kindle DX won’t be shipped until sometime in the summer of 2009, so if you need a portable ebook reader ASAP you’ll want to look elsewhere.

Below is a detailed comparison of many of the features of these two popular devices. We want to give you as much information as possible so you can make an educated decision about your purchase.

* Red text denotes the “winner” for each feature

As you can see, it’s neck-and-neck between these two Amazon electronic reading devices. Each one has its own set of strengths and weaknesses. The best way to decide which one is best for you, is to ask yourself these questions:

• Is price important? (Kindle 2)
• Is screen size important - ie. will I be reading a lot of magazines and newspapers, rather than novels? (Kindle DX)
• Is portability important? (Kindle 2)
• Do I plan on reading a lot of PDFs? (Kindle DX)

Hopefully that was helpful and you now know which Kindle is right for you! If not, please let us know how else we might be able to help you decide.

Popularity: 16% [?]

Out of seemingly nowhere emerges a UK company called Interead, with the launch of:

• The COOL-ER - a small, light, electronic book reader available in 8 colors and at a very affordable price of $249
• CoolerBooks.com - an e-boostore with over 750,000 titles available for instant download

This is huge news for the ebook reader industry! For us users, this can only be a positive thing, as competition breeds better technology and more affordable devices. Many sources are calling the COOL-ER the “iPod of ebook readers”. Wow, that’s quite the complement …and time will tell if it’s true.

Here’s some quick specs on the COOL-ER:

• Size - 7.2″ x 4.6″ x 0.4″
• Weight - 4.1 ounces
• Internal storage - 1 GB
• External storage - SD (up to 4 GB)
• Processor - 400 Mhz
• Battery - Li-Polymer; 8000 page turns per charge
• File formats - JPG, PDF, EPUB, TXT
• Interface - USB

Once we get our hands on one of these trendy reader’s, we’ll provide a detailed review, but for now we’re just going to marvel at what may prove to be a very successful future for Interead. If you’d like to be a trend setter and pre-order a COOL-ER, you can do so here, but it won’t be delivered until early June 2009.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Popularity: 1% [?]