TechLounge » eBook Reader

Kobo eReader goes European

techlounge — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 10:34:05 +0000

Amazon’s Kindle may have a leadership position right now in electronic reading devices and digital books, but this is a hot market and is getter more competitive. Toronto-based Kobo is turning a new page in its history, announcing a whopping $50 million investment from Fidelity and existing investors. Today at the London Book Fair, Canadian based e-reader giant Kobo announced that they will be tailoring their Kobo eBook Store towards selected European markets.

The foray by Kobo into the European market is not just launching a new eBook store, but also localized versions of its Kobo Wireless e-reader. This will insure that books downloaded will automatically be translated to your home language. The company now boasts 2.3 million eBooks, newspapers and magazines in its digital storefront, with more than one million users of the offering added in the past three months.

E-Readers are more popular than ever

techlounge — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 13:59:27 +0000

The popularity of e-readers such as the Sony portable readers system or the Amazon Kindle is growing. These devices allow users to download books, in the case of the Kindle from Amazon, or the Sony from many book stores with online web pages. Both of these items are lightweight and portable so they are ideal for taking away on holiday.

Medical students are prodigious readers, by necessity. But they’re not alone in expressing concern about how electronic reading devices are affecting their eyesight. Whether it’s a Smartphone, a dedicated electronic reader like the Kindle or the Sony, or a multipurpose tablet like the iPad, digital gadgets are becoming the preferred platform for more and more readers. Sales of e-books are now increasing more than hard covers and a 116 percent increase over January 2010. Basic devices like Amazon’s Kindle series, the Sony Readers use “E Ink,” an electronic format that has no lighting and closely resembles the grey printed page of a real book. Many readers prefer this technology to bright liquid-crystal display (LCD) screens like the iPads.

Sony eBook reader to hit our shores this month

techlounge — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 10:53:33 +0000

Sony is set to release their new eBook reader, the PRS-505 for the UK market this month. This ultra portable device offers book readers the chance to take up to 160 books on their travels; all stored on one handy little device. The Sony PRS-505 is slimmer than previous designs and boasts an Eink screen, which replicates the look of traditional books on its large 6 inch screen. The text on the screen can also be resized for sight-impaired readers and has a viewing angle of up to 180 degrees.

The Sony eBook reader also features memory stick DUO and SD card slots for additional memory that can take the amount of eBooks stored on the device to over 13,000. Battery power is impressive as well, with over 7,000 page turns from a single battery charge.

The Sony eBook reader will probably not signal the end of the traditional book, but is a handy accessory to have if you do a lot of reading or need access to your documents and other files while on your travels.

The Sony PRS-505 is available for pre-order now and will be released later this month. The unit is priced at £199.99 and will include all the software needed to download the eBooks, power adaptor and a leather look cover.