I'm just catching up with my (probably far too many) blogs -reminded of a David Weinberger post from 2005, "No, I'm not keeping up with your blog" (if he thought that then...) - but I have just read - nearly missed it - a posting on Kindle News: Why not Rent-A-Book for Kindle, and it struck me that libraries (public, university, whatever) could be missing a chance here. It's what we do. We lend books.Now Kindle is clearly a lost cause for us as it's linked - without question - to buying books on Amazon and doesn't seem likely to reach the UK for a decade or so, but what about the iRex iLiad (of which I have spoken before, and which is gradually getting more press over here - it even has its own blog now: i to i blog and a wikipedia entry). I often say that I can see a time when...
or: "The most amazing thing about e-book readers"... is?Yes, you've guessed it - the scared, defensive attitudes of reviewers, almost all of whom say or write "... but would you want to read it in the bath?"What?!!Listen.No one is suggesting that e-book readers will replace paper books. Now, or soon, or ever! No one wants to read them in the bath. No one thinks that they are better than - or even as good as - paper books. No one thinks that bookshelves are doomed to end up on the bonfire. Libraries are not dead.e-Book readers are simply another tool of the digital age. Like the iPod. Another way to listen to music; to carry a lot of music around with you. Another way to carry books (well, a small library, actually) around with you... in what is really a very accessible, readable, usable,...
iRex Technologies has news of advances (both financial and publishing) for its powerful e-book reader, the iLiad. iRex has secured funding - to the tune of € 6M, which will be used to"acceleration of the Company's business, R&D and the development of the next generation product." We can presumably look forward to Visplex screens, improved software and power management, and a greater range of available titles.At the same time, iRex has signed a contract with Les Echos (a major French business newspaper) which means that Les Echos will be the first newspaper published using e-Ink. Not just e-books but e-newspapers!>>Technorati tags: ebooks; readers; iLiad>>IceRocket tags: ebooks; readers;...
While we wait for the launch of Amazon's Kindle, review copies have been mailed:NAEB Cybook sample: Favorable first reaction from blogger, impressed by brighter screen than Sony’s “It arrived! Yes, the engineering samples from Bookeen, of their new Cybook Gen3 ebook reader, have arrived at NAEB LLC and I got my sample/review unit this morning!and the '2nd edition' of iRex Technologies' iRex reader has been launched. The press release notes (and TeleRead shows) that the old curves are gone (Good!) in favour of a more stable book-shaped housing, the battery life is 20% better, and the software is an updated version of the already powerful software: The iLiad 2nd edition comes with the latest software version 2.11. This version of the software is part of the continuous software...
Many of us who write and talk about the use of e-books see e-book readers such as the Sony Reader or the iRex iLiad as one market with huge potential that is still largely in its infancy (PDAs notwithstanding). At the same time the regular travellers amongst us worry about the amont of kit(and its associated chargers) we are forced to carry - laptops, readers, iPod, mobile phone, etc - and look forward to the day when convergent technologies wrap it all up in one neat (and smallish) box! I wrote of this here when the iPhone was launched as its screen and applications seemed ideal for the e-book market. Now TeleRead has reported that a reader did 'a little testing' and can read the Web versions of e-books that are available online at Manybooks. TeleRead (iPhone works with Manybooks.net,...
I have been invited by the German Library Association to speak on e-books in libraries at their 3rd Congress of Information and Library, to be held in Leipzig between 19th and 22nd March.I am presenting a paper entitled "E-Books and e-Book readers - can libraries manage them?" (link is to abstract as a Word document) on Tuesday afternoon in one of two sessions devoted to e-books. A recent paper in Library Hi Tech noted that "the supply of e-books in Germany is far lower than in the USA. In relation to the German-speaking hardcover supply, the supply of e-books adds up to just over 1.7 per cent" (Just, 2007) - so maybe these two sessions will help to stimulate e-book publishing in Germany.As is often the case when I speak on e-books, I shall have an iRex iLiad e-book reader with me (link...
If you didn't read The Guardian on Friday, have a look at Andrew Marr's excellent overview or review of e-book readers. He has been loaned an iRex iLiad for a month and, in spite of - or perhaps because of - his lifelong love of books he can find a place for it in his life. Not, as Bill Gates suggested, to replace paper - although the article suggests he would be pleased to see less paper in his life - but as an appropriate adjunct. The iLiad works well so why not use it when it is convenient - to reduce the load when carting books off on holiday, for example.Like all interesting writing on e-books, the full reference can be found at my Writings about e-Book Publishing, which is regularly and continuously updated!>>Technorati tags: ebooks; iRex; iLiad>>IceRocket tags: ebooks; iRex;...
eBook readers have come a long way since the early days and iRex Technology's iLiad is an excellent example: it holds up to 200 e-books and has a display that is described as close to print-on-paper, and gives a very comfortable reading experience.Now Polymer Vision have launched their READIUS display. A five-inch monochrome screen unrolls from a neat and slim device, which could be thought of as the book's spine. Slashgear says: Polymer Vision have cut a deal with Telecom Italia to market the device along with the network’s personalised news services. A built-in SIM card slot means it can be constantly connected to an EDGE/UMTS network as well as DVB-H IP data-casting, and take advantage of e-mail, news, location sensitive maps and ebooks, as well as user-loaded information on the 4GB...
Ever since I heard/watched Steve Jobs presentation on the iPhone and heard him mention audiobooks, I was struck by the possibilities within the landscape-view 3.5 inch screen. It seems that I am not the only one! A posting on O'Reilly Radar points to another posting on BookSquare blog, and Tim O'Reilly, the anonymous BookSquare and I are of one mind - if the iPhone were to add e-book reading to its already wide spectrum of use, it would be not just a winner, but a must-have! While I am a great fan of e-Ink devices such as the iLiad (from iRex Technologies), it has always seemed to me that, for the money, I want convergence... and a device that not only presents a library of e-books as something that is e(asily)-readable, but that gives me, in one device, all the other technology I lug...
e-Book readers - not the readers of e-books, but the handheld devices on which e-books can be read - offer huge potential for libraries. I have been looking at the iRex Technologies iLiad, which can hold up to 200 books - academic and school libraries could lend their students entire reading lists to take home, for example.But of course the licensing and the digital rights management (DRM) have to be worked out. Books downloaded onto readers have to be encrypted or users could simply pass them on. From what I can tell iRex seem to have this worked out quite well - and their iLiad is reportedly not going to be limited to a single format (like PDF). According to a post on panlibus, the Sony reader has issues in its DRM system - the post quotes Berlind's comments: “But, chances are, just...
