Mobileread.com

Mobileread member kilohertz53 reports that sony sent him the following email offering to fix the battery life issues on his upgraded Sony PRS-500 for free again and they pay shipping. Here is the letter he received:


Dear PRS-500 Reader(TM) Owner,

Thank you for allowing us to update your Reader to be compatible with our new and improved Reader(TM) Store. As a result of this update, you may have experienced diminished battery life with your PRS-500. This was an unintended side effect. Part of the benefit of using a device like the Reader is the superior battery life and we would like to ensure that you continue to enjoy this key advantage. To this end, we have developed new firmware that will resolve the issue. Unfortunately, this will require you to send your Reader back to us again. We realize this may pose another inconvenience for you but we hope you will accept our sincerest apologies and allow us to repair your Reader.

What do I need to do?

Due to the nature of the work required, you will need to send your PRS-500 Reader back to the Sony Service Center. We have already taken steps to send a pre-paid box to you in which you can pack your Reader with as little hassle as possible. Sony will pay the postage and have your Reader back to you promptly.

If you do not receive a box, have changed your mailing address or have any questions please call: 1-877-552-7669 or visit https://eservice.sony.com/webrma/web...0&purchaseDate to print a pre-paid UPS label to mail back your Reader in your own packaging.

Please keep in mind this issue only affects PRS-500 units that have previously been updated by Sony. We apologize once again and will include a $10 coupon for the Reader Store when we send your Reader back to you.

Sincerely,
The Reader Team

I'm not sure what more you could ask for... other than the original fix not having the problem of course.

BOb

http://amazon.com/kindleformac

So I just posted the second part of the Pocketbook 302 review over on my blog. Here are an excerpt:
Quote: The Pocketbook 302 is just coming on to the market, and I was lucky enough to get one of the first review units. This is part 2 of the review. I posted the first part of the review last week, and it has a fair amount of detail. If you haven’t read it yet, you should. This part will cover entirely different material. Also, you might be interested in the hands on videos I shot.

My Opinion

I’m putting this section first, rather than last, because I think I spent a little too much time pointing out the flaws of PB302. I like it. I could easily see having one as my main e-reader. It’s the first dedicated e-reader that I’ve seen that really lives up to the term e-reader. Most every other device is just an ebook reader; the PB302 is more because it has an RSS Reader and a browser. These features are slightly flawed, yes, but they are features that you can’t get on any other e-reader without a hack (Nook, Iliad). (The Kindle doesn’t count because in most countries you can’t use the browser).

In my opinion, the only ebook reader that can compare with a PB302 is a (hacked) Nook. I’ve thought about this for some time, and I can’t say that one is clearly better than the other. This is great news for the PB302; it costs $80 more. I think I would go for the PB302 myself; I prefer its hardware design. continued here

We are happy to announce that the forum changes are in place. This pass at forum changes was mainly for the device sections. The goal was to maintain what was working and fill in some missing areas.

To start with there is now a "General Discussions" section. This section was created for those discussion which were about e-books and e-book reading but didn't really fit into a device or software thread. These threads usually ended up in the "News and Commentary" section. You will also see the "News and Commentary" section was renamed to simply be "News" to focus it a bit more.

You will see there is now one category where all E-Book Reader device sections will be found. This includes dedicated devices such as the Kindle and the Sony and non-dedicated devices such as the iPad and the eDGe. The devices are listed in alphabetical order to make them easy to find.

There is a new "More E-Book Readers" section to discuss dedicated e-book reader devices for which there is no section. And grouped under that section are many device specific sub-forums. As discussion in the generic "More" section about a new or coming device become popular a new sub-forum can be added. We value all participation no matter what device you use but we needed a way to keep the forum list from becoming very long and daunting.

In addition the "Other Devices" section is now named "Alternative Devices" for discussion of Netbooks, PDAs, Smartphones etc. Once again, this incubation area will be watched carefully and device or OS specific sub-forums may be created for more popular devices or software.

The very good news is we added the following device sections:

BeBook
enTourage eDGe
iRiver Story
Onyx Boox
Plastic Logic Que
Spring Design Alex

We hope that these changes make everyone happy and will be responding to new forum section request more swiftly since the new organization easily allows it.

Thanks for your patience while we planned all this out. We do appreciate it.

Please enjoy.

Over the next week or so starting today you will be seeing some changes in the forums sections. We are reorganizing things in order to make sure there is a place to discuss all your topics, favorite devices and books.

If you see that a forum is missing or closed the messages are in the process of being moved to another section.

So, what's happening? Here are some hints:

To start with the two Sony threads and the two iRex threads will be merged together and device prefixes will be added to the section. This has proven itself to work well in the new Sony section so it will become a common fixture in all of the device sections where it makes sense.

We will also be collapsing some of the sub-forums into their parents to simplify forum navigation and prevent that deer in the headlights feeling of what sub-forum you should use for a trouble shooting question about an accessory.

I'm sure it will make you happy to hear that there will be several new device forums and a General Discussion area so those types of discussions won't dilute the News section.

We have been working very hard on the new layout and I want to thank all the members that have helped us. Your ideas were all taken seriously and considered important. I wish we could make everyone 100% happy but some ideas just conflicted with others.

So, please pardon our dust while we remodel... It should be well worth it.

Have something interesting to say about e-books or mobile computing? Join our forums and share your view on topics like the ones discussed at MobileRead this past week...

E-Book General - News and Commentary

• Read an E-Book Week 2010 is on!
• CeBIT Video: 1cross Tech Android e-reader combo
• Archos 5 Review
• Pocketbook 360 Review & Hands on Video

I have this review that I'd like to share. It was written by MR member Roger108, and I think it pretty accurately describes the PB360. You can find it over on my blog. Here's an excerpt:

The Pocketbook 360° eReader – Lean, Light, Beautiful and Blazing Fast
Quote: Ebook readers have been arriving in ever greater tidal waves over the past few years, some loaded with features, others barely able to perform as ebook readers. This January when I began my search, I was looking for one feature, the ability to read books easily, without eye strain. I have no desire to divide my mind with music or the internet while reading.

So when my ivory colored Pocketbook 360° appeared before my eyes—lean, light, and beautiful—I had a feeling that it would be a perfect fit. In fact, being the size of a CD case, and weighing a mere 5.3 ounces (half that of the Kindle or Nook), it fit perfectly in my pocket. I also shot a couple hands on videos with my new camera. You can watch them here.

EDIT 20100313: new package, both DR800S and DR800SG should work now. Same instructions. Thanks for the help.

Hi,

FBReader 0.10.7 for iRex DR800S
Last update: Wed Mar 10 23:37:08 2010

This is a compilation of FBReader e-book reader for iRex DR800
e-readers. There aren't much things changed from the original sources,
a customized toolbar and some new icons.

Random notes:
- This package is based on version 0.10.7
- I've tried 0.12.7 but it was too slow, this version is really fast
- Don't know if it works on DR800SG, but I expect it should do

Steps to install:
1. enable SD card folders browsing (look for the dr.ini file hack
in mobileread forum)
2. connect device to your computer using the USB cable
3. create a folder "/Programs" in SD card root
4. copy the contents of this compressed file there.
You should have something like:
SD card
/Programs
_fbreader (directory)
FBReader.desktop (file)
/other_things

Steps to use:
1. Navigate to SD card -> Select Programs folder -> tap on FBReader icon
2. Click on preferences and change some settings as default configuration
is not suitable for e-readers. F.e. I've changed:
- margins to 10, 10, 0, 4
- font size (in "styles" tab): to 8
- indicator: I like the "old style"
- key bindings. Tip: click on "Action for key" and press the bar to
show available actions
3. Take a look at "_fbreader/share/FBReader/default/toolbar.xml" file
if you want to change the buttons/actions shown in the toolbar


Enjoy,
Iñigo Serna
Attached Thumbnails   Attached Files FBReader-0.10.7-dr800-v2.tar.gz (1.63 MB)

I just posted a review of the Archos 5 tablet over on my blog. Here are the highlights:
Quote: I’ve been wanting to add an Android device to my collection for some time now, but I had to wait until I had the funds to spare. The Archos 5 was released last fall in the US and Europe. It’s your usual MID with a 4.8” screen, 8GB flash, Wifi, Bluetooth, and a microSD card slot. It also has excellent media abilities (Archos has been making media players for quite a few years now.)
...
My Recommendation

I would not go out of my way to get an Android tablet as an ebook reader. TBH, I would avoid them entirely. It is not nearly as stable or nor as feature rich as either Linux or Windows Mobile. Also, it doesn’t offer as many apps as either Linux or Windows Mobile. Android isn’t ready yet; it’s still in its infancy. And frankly, it was meant to run phones, not tablets. There’s a reason why the only authorized devices are phones; that’s what it’s designed for. continued here

http://1crosstech.com is showing a cool looking combination of a 6″ e-ink e-reader on one side, with a 3.2″ HVGA Android LCD on the other side, and also with a touch panel keyboard input and a whole bunch more hardware features.



Released at: ARMdevices.net

Read an E-Book Week has begun for 2010, and this year promises to outdo all previous years by an order of magnitude. Rita Toews has been working her butt off, interviewing for periodicals and blogs, contacting and drawing in new participants and promoters and twittering until her fingers are hoarse!

As the list of partners and promoters of e-books has grown, the number of participating authors and publishers has increased enormously. On Smashwords, over 3,000 authors will participate in the promotional event. Blio, QBook, Diesel E-Books and Sylvan Dell Publishing have joined most recently. The event has been mentioned as far away as Poland and England and as close to home as the Huffington Post. And the exposure to e-books being created by the soon-to-be-released iPad is drawing even more interested parties in.

This is your chance as well, to get out there and promote e-books to those who may not have tried them, or wonder what the hoopla is all about. If you have a reading device, show it off. If someone has questions about how and where to buy, elucidate them. If someone is looking for new reads, tell them about some of the independents you’ve discovered, or the classics you’ve rediscovered, through e-books. And, of course, find some new authors and reads of your own!

For more information about REBW10 and what you can do, visit www.ebookweek.com.

Here it is again, our weekly roundup! Enjoy!

E-Book General - News and Commentary

• Video of Sagem Wireless capacitive touchscreen 6" e-reader
• Freescale CPU with E Ink controller
• Pocketbook 302 first impressions - hands on video
• CeBIT Video: Hanvon WISEreader N618
• CeBIT Video: Asus DR-900
• CeBIT Video: Hanvon 8″ touchscreen e-reader prototype
• CeBIT Video: Gigabyte EB10 Android e-ink e-reader
• Reading on Android
• CeBIT Video: Interview with PocketBook about the new 601, 302/602 and 603

E-Book General - Reading Recommendations

• March 2010 Mobile Read Book Club Vote

Interview with Oleg Naumenko, General Manager of PocketBook about the new PocketBook 601 (cheap Freescale based), about 302/602 (resistive touch) and 603 (wacom touch) e-readers.



Released at: ARMdevices.net

I have the good fortune to be able to share with you not 1, but 2 articles on Android reading apps. One was written by Carly of GearDiary, and I wrote the other (as part of my review of the Archos 5). You should read them both. Carly and I came to different conclusions on some of the apps.

eBook Reading Options for Android (Gear Diary)

Reading on an Android Tablet, pt 1 (Nate's Ebook News)

Gigabyte is secretly showing a prototype of Android running on their first e-ink e-reader project. They are trying to adapt Android for e-ink e-readers, to allow users to install whatever RSS feed reader, news aggregator, any source for ebooks, web browsers and more adapted reading on paper-like screens with WiFi or 3G connectivity and perhaps even touch screens. I’d like a browser plugin that lets me bookmark articles in one click to read later on the e-reader thus using such synchronization software within Android that generates the reading queue based on web contents reformatted perfectly to read on such screen like reading on paper.

via ArmDevices.net

http://armdevices.net/2010/03/02/han...der-prototype/



Hanvon is working on a 8″ and 9″ e-reader prototypes to be released once the software and the screen are stable and mass produced.

Asus is showing this 9″ e-reader that uses SiPix and comes with a pretty cool capacitative touch screen for navigation, text input and more. It will come in WiFi and GSM versions.

ARMDevices.net

http://armdevices.net/2010/03/02/han...sereader-n618/



Wifi, stylus touch screen input, 6″ e-reader by http://hanvon.com they may be releasing this with China Mobile with a cellular modem option instead of WiFi for the Chinese market. It comes with a very basic user interface and uses wireless modem or WiFi to access specific e-book stores to download the e-books. The stylus pen can be used for the interfaces as well as for writing annotations, inputting text and more.

Help up choose a book as the March 2010 eBook for the Mobile Read Book Club. The poll will be open for 7 days. We will start the discussion thread for this book on March 21st. Select from the following books.

Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers? by Mary Roach
"Uproariously funny" doesn't seem a likely description for a book on cadavers. However, Roach, a Salon and Reader's Digest columnist, has done the nearly impossible and written a book as informative and respectful as it is irreverent and witty. From her opening lines ("The way I see it, being dead is not terribly far off from being on a cruise ship. Most of your time is spent lying on your back"), it is clear that she's taking a unique approach to issues surrounding death.

The Omnivore's Delimma by Michael Pollan
In The Omnivore's Dilemma, Michael Pollan writes about how our food is grown -- what it is, in fact, that we are eating. The book is really three in one: The first section discusses industrial farming; the second, organic food, both as big business and on a relatively small farm; and the third, what it is like to hunt and gather food for oneself. And each section culminates in a meal -- a cheeseburger and fries from McDonald's; roast chicken, vegetables and a salad from Whole Foods; and grilled chicken, corn and a chocolate soufflé (made with fresh eggs) from a sustainable farm; and, finally, mushrooms and pork, foraged from the wild.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
It is a really fascinating book about a woman whose cells became the first 'immortal line' in medical research and 50 years after her death, are still being used and have led to many medical discoveries. Her family did not find out this was even going on until years after her death. It's a very interesting story.

Quirkology: How We Discover the Big Truths in Small Things by Richard Wiseman.
An award-winning psychologist exposes the truth behind life's little oddities and absurdities in this quirky and practical guide to life.
For over twenty years, psychologist Professor Richard Wiseman has examined the quirky science of everyday life. In Quirkology, he navigates the backwaters of human behavior, discovering the tell-tale signs that give away a liar, the secret science behind speed-dating and personal ads, and what a person's sense of humor reveals about the innermost workings of their mind-- all along paying tribute to others who have carried out similarly weird and wonderful work. Wiseman's research has involved secretly observing people as they go about their daily business, conducting unusual experiments in art exhibitions and music concerts, and even staging fake séances in allegedly haunted buildings. With thousands of research subjects from all over the world, including enamored couples, unwitting pedestrians, and guileless dinner guests, Wiseman presents a fun, clever, and unexpected picture of the human mind.

American Notes by Charles Dickens
It's a short travelogue of Dickens' travels through America in the year 1842, and contains some wonderful descriptions of a world that no longer exists, and, in addition, is extremely funny in parts, such as Dickens' description of the then-prevalent habit of chewing tobacco and spitting.

A People's History of the United States by Howard Zinn
Consistently lauded for its lively, readable prose, this revised and updated edition of A People's History of the United States turns traditional textbook history on its head. Howard Zinn infuses the often-submerged voices of blacks, women, American Indians, war resisters, and poor laborers of all nationalities into this thorough narrative that spans American history from Christopher Columbus's arrival to an afterword on the Clinton presidency...

A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell
"First published in 1946, History of Western Philosophy went on to become the best-selling philosophy book of the twentieth century. A dazzlingly ambitious project, it remains unchallenged to this day as the ultimate introduction to Western philosophy. Providing a sophisticated overview of the ideas that have perplexed people from time immemorial, Russell's History of Western Philosophy offered a cogent précis of its subject. Of course this cannot be the only reason it ended up the best selling philosophy book of the twentieth century. Russell's book was 'long on wit, intelligence and curmudgeonly scepticism', as the New York Times noted, and it is this, coupled with the sheer brilliance of its scholarship, that has made Russell's History of Western Philosophy one of the most important philosophical works of all time."

The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair that Changed America by Erik Larson
Author Erik Larson imbues the incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with such drama that readers may find themselves checking the book's categorization to be sure that The Devil in the White City is not, in fact, a highly imaginative novel. Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor. Burnham's challenge was immense. In a short period of time, he was forced to overcome the death of his partner and numerous other obstacles to construct the famous "White City" around which the fair was built. His efforts to complete the project, and the fair's incredible success, are skillfully related along with entertaining appearances by such notables as Buffalo Bill Cody, Susan B. Anthony, and Thomas Edison. The activities of the sinister Dr. Holmes, who is believed to be responsible for scores of murders around the time of the fair, are equally remarkable. He devised and erected the World's Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his own charismatic personality to lure victims. Combining the stories of an architect and a killer in one book, mostly in alternating chapters, seems like an odd choice but it works. The magical appeal and horrifying dark side of 19th-century Chicago are both revealed through Larson's skillful writing.

The World Without Us by Alan Weisman
This book examines what would happen to the planet if human beings disappeared. It looks at a wide variety of specific questions ranging from why and when bridges would fall down to what would happen to cockroaches. I just checked and it's available for both Kindle ($9.99) and SONY ($10.50).

On the Origin of Species by Charles Darwin

The Stranger Beside Me by Anne Rule
Ann Rule was a writer working on the biggest story of her life, tracking down a brutal mass-murderer. Little did she know that Ted Bundy, her close friend, was the savage slayer she was hunting.

The Greek Myths by Robert Graves
The title says it all.

I just posted part one of my review over on my blog. I even shot a short video (my first). I've covered the PB302 before (here and here). Here are the highlights:
Quote: Reading software
It’s using Adobe Reader Mobile and FBReader. It appears to have full feature support for FBReader, and the only Adobe RM feature it lacks is annotation by drawing. I found it very usable. Screen refresh is slightly faster than the Nook. Since we know the Nook has one of the latest generation Marvell chips, I’d say that the PB302 comes out ahead in this comparison. I’m quite happy with it as a reader.

General Impressions
The touchscreen is highly reflective (I’m told they’re working on it). Even so, I’m satisfied with the PB 302 as a reader. It meets my minimum requirements: sleep mode, adequate format support, & one handed operation. I’ve gone though most of its abilities and I can’t find any shortcomings.

Extra Features
With the 302, you have the option of installing your own apps. It comes with about a dozen apps installed: games, dictionary, clock, sketchpad, web browser, RSS feed reader. It was the browser and RSS reader that originally caught my eye. Both of them work rather well.

I wish it had an email client, though. Here is the video: