e-readers

Kyobo Mirasol color e-reader debuts in Korea

A lot of people thought Mirasol, Qualcomm's once-promising color display technology with e-ink-like properties, was dead in the water. But now we get word that Kyobo Book Centre, Korea's largest bookseller, has announced the retail availability of the first Mirasol e-reader.

Simply called the Kyobo e-reader, it looks a lot like the Mirasol prototypes that have been floating around for the last couple of years. The Kyobo's got a 5.7-inch XGA display (1,024x768-pixel resolution, 223 ppi), runs on a Qualcomm 1GHz Snapdragon S2-class processor, and sports a touch-screen interface. Cost: $310 (KRW349,000) or $265 (KRW 299,000) if you happen to be a Kyobo Platinum Book Club member.

For those who've been following Mirasol, the great thing about the technology is that as with e-ink you can view the screen in direct sunlight and it's also very energy-efficient.… Read more

Nook Tablet hands-on: Can it fight the Fire?

Nook Tablet or Kindle Fire?

That's the question that's already bedeviling consumers and gadget aficionados alike.

In a matter of weeks, it seems, the tablet market has been compressed to just a handful of choices. The iPad 2 still rules the high end ($500 and above), but the "e-reader as tablet" option now looms large in the sub-$250 range, with the $199 Kindle Fire going mano a mano with the $249 Nook Tablet.

The Kindle Fire has just started shipping, and the Nook Tablet will follow as soon as tomorrow (a few days earlier than originally expected).

Last year, Barnes & Noble released the Nook Color at the same $249 price. Back then, a 7-inch color e-reader that could run apps as well as read color books and magazines, and even play movies and music, was a revelation. The Android tablet could even be rooted--to many, it became known as the not-so-secret most-affordable Android tablet around with the best design (other similarly priced and more-generic Android tablets are, by comparison, terrible).

With the Fire on the horizon, Barnes & Noble knew it had to up the ante.… Read more

Kindle Fire has something for everyone

As the holiday shopping season gets under way, chances are good that you will come across someone shopping for an Amazon Kindle Fire.

Thanks to its attractive $199 price tag, the Kindle Fire quickly has become the most talked about tablet since the iPad 2. While some will argue that it's actually an e-reader, I've come to the conclusion that the Kindle Fire is more than enough tablet for the typical consumer. But no matter what you call it, it's going to be popular.

When the entry-level Kindle starts at $79.99, you may balk at the … Read more

AT&T to sell Kindle Touch 3G

Looking to buy a Kindle Touch this holiday season? Well, Amazon.com won't be the only place the new device will be available.

Starting next week, AT&T said it will sell the 3G version of the Kindle Touch e-reader, one of three new e-readers recently announced by Amazon. The Kindle Touch offers a new touch screen. AT&T will charge $149 for the device, the same price as Amazon.com.

This is the first time AT&T will be selling the Kindle e-reader in its retail stores. And it will give people an opportunity to … Read more

Kobo unveils $99 ad-supported e-reader

Borrowing a page from Amazon's playbook, Kobo has quietly launched an ad-supported e-book reader.

The Kobo Touch with Offers features a 6-inch E-ink touch screen, Wi-Fi, and a $99 price tag--a $30 price reduction from the regular model. The only difference, Kobo explains, is that the device's screen will feature an advertisement at the bottom of the home screen, as well as a screensaver ad when it's shut down or in sleep mode.

"Kobo Touch with Offers presents you with sponsored screens and valuable offers when your device is powered off or in sleep mode, and … Read more

Japan's Rakuten buys maker of Borders' e-reader

The third-place e-reader lives on to fight another day, thanks to plenty of yen.

Kobo, maker of the eponymous e-reader best associated with former bookseller giant Borders, is being acquired by Japan e-commerce player Rakuten for $315 million.

Canadian book retailer Indigo, the e-reader's creator, spun off Kobo in 2009. Although the sale to Rakuten, which operates Buy.com, among other properties, takes ownership over the Pacific, Kobo executives say the company will remain headquartered in Toronto.

The sale to Rakuten could be a natural step for Kobo in focusing further on the international market. There are more than … Read more

How to convert Web pages to e-books

If you want to save that long Web article for later, it's easy enough to bookmark it or send it to a consolidation site. But what if you want to take a look at your leisure using your favorite e-reader?

That's quite a bit trickier, or at least it used to be. There's a nifty bookmarklet called DotEPUB that will convert whatever page you're currently on into the widely used EPUB format. Here's how to use it: 

Point your browser to the DotEPUB page. (Note: the bookmarklet will not work using Internet Explorer, but … Read more

What's missing from the Kindle and Nook? Support for printed books

Having just come from the unveiling of the latest Nook e-readers, I'm feeling more than ever that the future of reading will come in tablet form. I'm already "that guy": I read all my latest books on my iPad via iBooks or the Kindle app. And yet, there's something big--something obvious--that e-readers are missing. It's something that magazines, newspapers, DVDs, and Blu-rays have already figured out.

A way to marry print books and digital ones.

I see bookstores around me closing every day. I'm part of the problem. Here's the vile thing I do: I browse through a bookstore like a vulture. I finger through books. When I find one I like, I buy it, right there, on my iPhone--on the Kindle. The bookstore loses the purchase. I'm a horrible person. And yet, I'll keep doing it. Because those big, bulky physical books don't come with download codes to get e-versions, and right now, I'd rather choose digital. There has to be another way.… Read more

How to read EPUB files on your Kindle

If you use an e-reader, it's probably a Kindle, which means it can be a pain to use open-source e-book formats like EPUB. Calibre is a free, open-source e-book manager that lets users convert EPUB files to Kindle-readable MOBI files. Here's how to use it:

Download and install Calibre. When you first run it, Calibre will ask what language you want to use, and to select a folder to use as your e-book library. Next, select your primary reader. From the main screen, you can choose to add books by clicking the large icon in the top left. … Read more