Looks like a lot of folks that received Sony Readers were faced with issues downloading the latest update of the Reader library on Christmas. I had procrastinated updating mine, so I faced the same issue yesterday. Fortunately it is all working fine today at http://ebookstore.sony.com/download/.

I’m not sure how to take the outage. On the one hand, I am encouraged that there were that many people with a new Reader trying to update their device. On the other hand, I am disappointed that Sony wasn’t prepared for the spike in traffic. I mean, who would have thought there would be a spike on Christmas? (sarcasm intended)

It does also highlight one of the key differentiators between the Sony and the Kindle/Nook. You need the software to load new books as opposed to just doing it wirelessly (the new Daily Edition Sony does have wireless).

It was the perfect storm, however. They created a required update to the Reader Library (You could not access the bookstore without 3.1) after the Readers were all wrapped for Christmas, so you had a lot of folks needing the update on the same day. Not the best planning on someone’s part.

But it is all fixed now, and it saved me some money. Instead of buying a couple of books to read, I visited Feedbooks and downloaded some Sherlock Holmes to read.

Filed in categories: eBook Readers and Gear

Tagged: Reader, Sony

Sony Reader Site Buckles Under Load originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on December 26, 2009 at 9:06 am.

Aldiko is a new e-book reader for Android. It is not the first reader for the Android, but it is the first one that has actually stayed on my G1. I asked the developer the origins of the name, and he indicated that it is derived loosely from the Swahili word for book andiko.

Aldiko comes with Sun Tzu’s Art of War and H. G. Well’s The Invisible Man pre-loaded. However, you can browse and load any of the books available on Feedbooks right from the application. The site contains thousands of public domain and creative commons works.

Just so you know where I am coming from, I have used a lot of tools for reading e-books going back to at least my Palm V (and maybe my PalmPilot Personal). On the Palm I used primarily iSilo and eReader (though I did use MobiPocket when it was the only option for DRM books). I have also played with Stanza a little bit on my wife’s iPod Touch. A few years back I received a Sony PRS-500 and recently upgraded to a PRS-700.

Since one of the key features is the ability to download books directly to the phone, let’s start with that. I started right off by downloading Content by Cory Doctorow, since that is what I am currently reading on my 700. It was very easy to find and download.

To download the book:

1. Tap Download Books from the main screen.
   
2. Tap Free Public Domain Books.
3. Tap Authors.
4. Tap first letter of Author’s name and scroll through list.
   
5. Tap on Author.
6. Scroll through Author’s titles.
   
7. Tap the desired title.
   The application displays a thumbnail of the cover, and you can scroll down to see a description:
   
   
8. Tap Download.

Your phone begins to download the book in the background. Once the download is complete, you will get a notice, and it appears in your bookshelf.

If a listed title has already been downloaded, it appears highlighted in green. And at any point you can jump to the home page by bringing up the menu and tapping Home.

While reading your book, You can go to the next page by swiping left across the screen (like turning the page of a book) or taping on the right side of the screen. To go to the previous page you swipe right tap on the left side of the screen, You can control the brightness by swiping up and down the left edge of the screen. You can switch around these options in a number of ways to best suite you preference, but I think most will like the defaults. A small progress bar at the bottom of the screen display how far you are in the current chapter.

From the reading screen, you can open a menu with a number of options:

• Content displays the chapters defined in the book.
  
• Bookmarks allows you to define and use bookmarks in the book.
• Show Progress displays the section you are in, a thumbnail of the cover and a bar displaying the overall progress and the progress within the chapter.
  
• Day/Night toggles between a day time theme (Dark Brown text on Tan by defualt) and a Night them (White text on Black).
  
• Settings has a number of options I will detail below.
• More displays the options for Help (list of navigation keys), Home to return to the Home screen, and Share which opens an e-mail so you can recommend the book (and Aldiko) to a friend.

Settings

• Color Theme. You can set the Font Color, Background Color and Link Color for two themes; Day and Night.
  

• Font & Layout. You can choose the Font Family including Arial, Georgia (default), Courier, Times New Roman and Verdana. You can also choose the point size and weight (Light, Normal, Bold and Bolder). You can select the Line Spacing (1-3, defaults to double-spaced which I did not like) and the horizontal and vertical margin.
  
• Navigation. You can change the navigation keys, the page turn speed and choose whether to display the progress bar.
  
• Brightness. You can set the brightness, and choose the shortcut swipe to set brightness while reading.
  

I am really impressed by this release of the application. It was announced and released June 2nd and has the feel of a very mature application. They seem genuinely interested in hearing feedback from their customers. From the home screen menu you can select Share which dispalays the option to Tell us what you think. Choosing this option sends an e-mail to the company. I sent a message and received a response in less than 2 hours. At this point I have exchanged a number of e-mail messages with the lead developer.

I did have a few issues. I do not like full justification on such a small screen. Full justification is a formatting technique that creates smooth left and right margins. In printed material this can look nice, and sophisticated publishing tools use hyphenation and put micro spaces between letters to make it less noticeable. With the small real estate, and only the ability to add space within words you get this:

Notice the large space on the fourth line of the first paragraph and the claustrophobic spacing of the second line of the second paragraph.

The Feedbooks tie in is great. It provides access to a fabulous selection of public domain and creative commons works, but you have no access to newer copyrighted works. In addition, there is currently no way to import your own ePub files. This prevents you from adding other free works like the ones you can find at the Baen Free Library. In response to my question they did say they were working on adding that. To quote the developer:

We are taking some time to carefully think through the overall user experience to make sure the import process is as intuitive and painless as possible.

Kind of hard to argue with logic like that. And, frankly, using this application it becomes quickly apparent those are not just words. It is very well designed.

Filed in categories: Android related, eBook Readers and Gear

Tagged: e-book, Reader

Aldiko for Android Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on June 4, 2009 at 3:00 am.

I recently downloaded Ilium Software’s NewsBreak Lite RSS reader from the Windows Mobile Total Access Site. I had been searching for a lightweight non-bloated reader for my Treo, and I really like this one. It’s free, it’s fast, easy to configure, and did I mention Free? There’s a paid version from Ilium that implements some other features including podcasts, but if you’re in to lean and mean, the Lite version works nicely.

Filed in categories: Windows Mobile related

Tagged: Reader, rss

NewsBreak Lite RSS Reader for WinMo originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on April 7, 2009 at 9:51 am.

The last time I read an ‘analog’ book, was… ummmm… Wow, I can’t even remember. I’ve been reading e-books on my PDAs and now smartphones for years now. I think the first device that I recall reading on was the Palm V. I love being able to carry a bookcase of books in my pocket. I didn’t purchase Amazon’s original Kindle, because I didn’t think it would be a device that I would carry around with me all the time like my smartphone. Then recently when Oprah featured the reader on her show and offered a $50 discount, Jeanne decided to buy one. I was very surprised because she has always turned her nose up to digital books in the past when I offered to put eReader on her Palm Zire 31. I almost bought one of my own after playing with hers, but I decided to wait for the Kindle 2. I’m glad that I did.

Hardware Specifications

Display: 6″ diagonal E-Ink® electronic paper display, 600 x 800 pixel resolution at 167 ppi, 16-level gray scale
Size (in inches): 8″ x 5.3″ x 0.36″.
Weight: 10.2 ounces.
System requirements: None, because it doesn’t require a computer
Storage: 2GB internal (approximately 1.4GB available for user content)
Battery Life: Up to 4 days with wireless on. Up to two weeks with wireless off
Charge Time: Fully charges in approximately 4 hours and supports charging from your computer via the included USB 2.0 cable.
Connectivity: EVDO modem with fallback to 1xRTT; utilizes Amazon Whispernet to provide U.S wireless coverage via Sprint’s 3G high-speed data network. Check our wireless coverage map for availability. This expanded coverage is only available for Kindle 2. See Wireless Terms and Conditions.
USB Port: USB 2.0 (micro-B connector)
Audio: 3.5mm stereo audio jack, rear-mounted stereo speakers.
Content Formats Supported: Kindle (AZW), TXT, Audible (formats 4, Audible Enhanced (AAX)), MP3, unprotected MOBI, PRC natively; PDF, HTML, DOC, JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP through conversion.

Package Contents

Kindle 2 Wireless Reading Device
Power adapter
USB 2.0 cable

Left to Right: original Kindle, Kindle 2 (click to see full-size image)

The Kindle 2 is approximately the same width as the original device, but is slightly longer. The display is the same size and resolution, but is capable of 16 shades of Gray  instead of only 4 shades.

Top to bottom: original Kindle, Kindle 2 (click to see full-size image)

I was immediately impressed with how thin the Kindle 2 is when compared to the original Kindle.

I wasn’t a big fan of the wedge shape and probably the main reason why I decided not to buy the original Kindle was the fact that it has buttons along both side edges. Every time I would pick up the reader, I would accidentally activate a button.

In my opinion the Kindle 2 is much nicer looking that the original. I like the thin flat design and rounded corners. The top half is made of sturdy egg shell White plastic.

While the back is a brushed aluminum. You’ll also notice the speakers located along the bottom edge.

There isn’t a user replaceble battery in this newer model and there’s also no SD card slot. However, the memory has been increased from 180MB up to 1.4GB.

The top edge has a 3.5mm stereo headphone jack and a spring loaded power switch.

You’ll find a micro USB connector and charging status LED on the opposite edge.

Cover connection slots (click to see full-size image)

There are two thin slots on the Left side of the Kindle. These are attachment slots for protective covers. One thing to note is that the Kindle 2 does not ship with any type of cover or case.

On the Right side you will find the volume controls.

Keyboard (click to see full-size image)

The QWERTY keyboard has hard round and slightly domed keys. Although the keys are small, they do have good tactile feedback. Thumb typing is not hard at all.

Joystick style nav button (click to see full-size image)

Instead of the shiny navigation strip that the original Kindle had, the Kindle 2 has a spring loaded 5-way joystick style button. The button is made of hard plastic and also has very good tactile feedback. Above the joystick is the Menu button and below it is a Back button. On the Left side of the display are Next page and Prev page buttons and on the Right side of the display there are Home and Next page buttons. I had no problems at all navigating around pages and menus with the Kindle 2. It feels very intuitive.

Charging the Kindle is accomplished with the included micro USB cable and AC adapter. The adapter is very compact and portable.

You can also charge the Kindle through a powered USB port. I have tried this on the original Kindle and haven’t had success. It either isn’t supported, or is extremely slow.

The display uses the same technology as the previous Kindle. It’s still mono and is not backlit. The lack of a backlight was a concern for me as I have problems with low light vision (darned corneal dystrophy). That said, as long as I’m sitting in an area with decent lighting, the Kindle is very comfortable to read. I still do hope that a future version of the Kindle might have a backlight.

If you like to read outside, you won’t have any issues with screen glare. The screen is fantastic in full sun.

The images I’ve captured for the review were taken without flash in a medium lit room.

The user interface hasn’t changed that much with this new model. It’s still simple and non-cluttered. The Home screen lists all your books and at the top of the screen, you can see the status of the wireless connection and battery.

You’ll notice that below each book’s title is a dotted line. This line represents how far along you are in the book. The dots get slightly bigger and bolder to show your progress.

Using the joystick, you just scroll down to a book title that you want to open and select it by clicking the joystick. Again, the user interface is simple and not cluttered by info that is not necessary. The book title is in the upper Left corner and your location within the book is displayed along the bottom. In the image you see above, the text size is set to the smallest size.

And this is the largest size text setting. You can choose from six different sizes.

Turning the pages is done with the large Next Page button on other side of the display. It feels natural and comfortable to read with the Kindle. It’s actually feels more comfortable to me than using the iPhone or iPod touch. I usually hold the Kindle in my Right hand, with my thumb over the Right Next Page button.

One of the most useful features of this ereader is the word look up feature. If you don’t know the meaning of a word, just use the joystick to move the cursor to the Left side of the word and the definition appears at the bottom of the screen. If you want to see even more info on a particular word, you can press the return button on the keyboard and it will load a whole page from the New Oxford American Dictionary, which is included on the Kindle 2.

There’s a search function while in a book to search for a word and an expanded search feature from the Home page.

The Menu button will bring up a contextual menu depending if you are in a book or at the Home screen. While in a book, you can navigate to different locations in the book, search, add a bookmark, notes or highlight text. You can also get a description of the book (this requires wireless). Two features new to the Kindle are Syncing and text-to-speech.

Syncing is really nice if you have an iPhone or iPod touch. The free Kindle application will automatically sync your purchased books and will always know where you are in the book. For example, I was reading a particular book on my Kindle this past weekend and when I launched the Kindle app on my iPhone today, it immediately asked me if I wanted to sync the same book to the furthest read location. I love this feature!

The Text-to-speech feature is one of the three experimental features that you’ll want to try out. It will read your books to you in either a male or female voice. It sounds a bit robotic, but not too bad really. Here are two samples:

amazon-male
amazon-female

One of the main selling points for the Kindle is the ability to buy books directly from the device using their free Whispernet wireless connection. That means that you do not need a computer to convert and load books on to this reader as long as you are in the wireless coverage area. The Kindle has a built in EVDO modem that uses Sprint as the carrier. Where I live, I do not have Sprint coverage… BUT, I do get a signal on the Kindle because I it’s roaming on Verizon. My signal isn’t very strong or fast, but I am able to buy and download books.

The online store is easy to navigate and wander around in.

The numbers in parenthesis are the number of books available in each category. You don’t just find old books to buy, even the latest and greatest titles are for sale. New York Times best sellers typically sell for $9.99 each.

The book lists show the cover art, titles, and rates.

You can purchase books directly on the device or get a free sample first with an option to buy the whole book once you finish reading it. Prices are actually a lot better than I remember them being with the Sony Reader. You can even find free books to download through the online store. Amazon knows what it’s doing with the instant gratification aspect of their store. When you click Buy, you don’t have to go through the pain of signing on, giving your credit card number or anything. It uses your Amazon account and the payment method already setup there. It’s easy, it’s fast, it’s addictive Even with my slow connection, I could buy a book and have it ready to read in a couple minutes.

In addition to books,  you can subscribe to newspapers and magazines that will be delivered right to your device. There aren’t many magazines to choose from yet, only 24 or so including Time, Newsweek, Reader’s Digest, etc. I’d be more excited about magazines if the Kindle had a color display.

If you’re cheap and don’t want to buy books, you can help yourself to any freebies that Amazon makes available, or you can download books from other sites and convert them to the Kindle format (.AZW). There are free tools available that makes this very easy. Stanza and Calibre can both save to AZW format.

The Kindle also has a built in web browser…

Unless you have a fast connection, it isn’t the most enjoyable experience though…

This is what The Gadgeteer looks like through the Kindle browser. Ick

I’ve had the Kindle 2 for a few weeks now and I have been enjoying using it. It feels slightly faster than the original kindle at turning pages and does have a better battery life. As long as I don’t forget to turn off the wireless radio, it might last for close to two weeks between charges. If I forget to turn off the radio, I’ll be lucky to get a day and a half out of a charge.

Reading on the device is comfortable on my eyes as long as I am in a well lighted area. Holding the device and changing pages using the buttons is also comfortable. The size is thin and light, but even so, I don’t take it to work with me in my gear bag everyday. I find that I have been only using it at home so far. I know I’ll also bring it along on trips, but it isn’t convenient to carry with me all the time. If I want to read a few pages while I’m at work, I launch the Kindle app on my iPhone and read there. Then when I get home, I sync to the last read page on the Kindle and I’m good to go.

I think the Amazon Kindle will eventually do for books what the Apple iPod has done for music. People were skeptical with the original Kindle, but I think as Amazon continues to improve on this wireless e-book reader, that it’s definitely going to happen.

Filed in categories: eBook Readers and Gear, Reviews

Tagged: ebook, Kindle, Reader

Amazon Kindle 2 Wireless E-book Reader Review originally appeared on The Gadgeteer on March 24, 2009 at 1:00 am.