| Freescale and e-Ink have both played a pivotal role for the entire e-reader revolution. E-Paper and the processors that power them have run in tandem from the very first Sony e-Reader to the modern day Kindle Voyage. The future of e-readers may be in doubt when news broke today that Freescale has been purchased by NXP Semiconductors for $40 billion dollars. The deal will likely close by the middle of the year and the two forces will be a force to reckoned with. According to Reuters “The transaction is the clearest sign yet that semiconductor companies are regaining the confidence required to pursue big mergers and acquisitions at a time when their major clients, such as mobile phone manufacturers, seek to consolidate suppliers.” Freescale a former division of Motorola and makes chips for automotive, consumer, industrial and networking markets. In only the last few days the company announced their new S32V microcontroller to process sensor data to enable driver-assist features. Will Freescale continue to support the e-readers of their world once they are formally acquired? There is minimal competition in the e-reader space and only Rockchip lightly competes, and primarily targets the extreme budget end of the spectrum. I think Freescale is critical to the evolutionary growth of e-readers. A future without Freescale developing controller chips with support for e-ink display panel is horrifying to envision. Will Freescale Continue to Support e-Readers? is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Sunday, March 1, 2015
Will Freescale Continue to Support e-Readers?
Amazon Kindle Voyage vs Kobo Aura
| The Amazon Kindle Voyage and Kobo Aura reflect two of the best e-readers ever made and they both have world class e-book stores. These two models have high availability in North America and Western Europe. Obviously, people want to know, what is better? What can they do and which one is deal for your needs? Today, we put them both head to head to give you a sense of the best value for your money. The Amazon Kindle Voyage features a six inch e-ink Carta display with a resolution of 1430 x 1080. It has 300 PPI, which is the highest we have ever seen. In contrast, the Paperwhite 2, which this model replaces only has a resolution of 1024 X 768 and 212 PPI. Lets look at what the competition is doing, the Kobo Aura H20, which came out a month ago has a 6.8 inch screen with the same resolution as the Voyage, but has 265 DPI. The Barnes and Noble Nook Glowlight has been on the market for most of the year, but its 1024 x 758 and 212 PPI is somewhat depressing. One of the big design changes with the Voyage is the screen is completely flush with the bezel. All prior Kindle e-readers had a sunken screen and employed infrared touchscreen technology. The new capacitive screen is much easier to interact with and allows for more pin-point procession. This model also has a more refined front-light and Page Press technology which basically replaces manual page turn keys. The Kobo Aura maintains the standard six-inch approach that the company made famous with their entire product line. It currently has a super high resolution e-Ink "Clarity Screen" with 212 DPI and sixteen levels of grey. Really, the resolution is the exact same on the Glo, and has not broken any barriers on using a next generation e-Ink display. This e-Reader has the exact same front-lite technology that was found on the original Kobo Aura HD. This will allow readers to adjust the brightness settings to suit their environment. Currently, Kobo has the best front-lit screen in the business and has surpassed Amazon in terms of quality. To turn the screen light on, there is a button at the very top and then a virtual slider bar to control the brightness. It is powered by the quintessential Freescale i.MX507 1 GHZ processor and has 1 GB of RAM. There are 4 GB of internal memory, which can be enhanced via the Micro SD Card. It seems that Kobo e-Readers still have expandable memory, which makes adding books to your collection fairly easy and painless. It also has over two months of battery life, which is ideal. Aside from their specs and hardware on paper, how do these e-readers function in the real world? What are the primary differences between their e-book stores and what type of options do you have while reading a standard book or a PDF file. Today, our video will answer all of your questions.
Amazon Kindle Voyage vs Kobo Aura is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Happy Read Across America Day!
| Today is March 2nd and we're delighted to say We're hoping you'll celebrate As we've mentioned before We hope that this message Each year on this day Now, we think you'll enjoy So gather up your youngsters Adam Sockel is a Social Media Specialist at OverDrive and still the resident Seussian expert. |
Introducing the Good e-Reader App Store for e-Ink
| The largest trend in the e-reader industry in 2014 was the elimination of Linux as the default operating system and the unified embracing of Android. Asian and European companies have been spearheading this movement to allow anyone to install whatever e-reading app they want and not be locked into a specific ecosystem. In order to move Android ahead in e-readers we have developed the first App Store for e-Ink. The Good e-Reader Android App Store for e-Ink is a major new initiative that gives users who have an Icarus, Onyx, Energy Sistem, Boyce or a slew of other devices to be able to easily install apps. Our App Store gives you unparalleled freedom to dictate your own e-reading experience. Want to read PDF files and don’t like the default viewer? Want to read manga and love MangaBox? What about reading your favorite e-books via Amazon, Kobo or Barnes and Noble? Good e-Reader has over 29,000 apps that are compatible with e-ink devices. The App Store for e-ink eliminates many of the issues that users found when they were using our optimized store for Android smartphones and tablets. We decided to rebuild the store, getting rid of all advertisements, banners, image slideshows and anything else that can wreck havoc with traditional e-readers. The end result, is amazing! The Good e-Reader App Store for e-Ink is free to install and doesn’t cost any money. We really want to make Android on e-readers a super viable thing and instead of just writing about all of the news here on the Good e-Reader Blog, we want to be proactive in helping the community find an awesome app solution. Introducing the Good e-Reader App Store for e-Ink is a post from: Good e-Reader |
New Book Promotion has Readers Paying What they Want
| The traditional book selling market has always had clearly defined prices for retail and online shopping. A publisher in New York is seeking to disrupt the conventional sales model with a pay what you want promotion. Brooklyn Arts Press has launched an intriguing initiative that is normally reserved for bands like Radiohead or comedy videos by Louis C.K. The publisher has introduced a Pick-Your-Price for a Paperback! from author Noah Eli Gordon. His new book The Word Kingdom in the Word Kingdom will allow readers to define their own price from Feb 1 4 to March 7th. Will the creative tactic catch on among small presses or even indie authors? It has certainly become quite the norm for e-books. Digital reading has always employed a laissez faire policy when it comes to experimentation. Humble Bundle is the poster child for the entire notion of paying what you want and has been doing it with e-books since 2012 when Neil Gaiman and Cory Doctorow contributed some titles and the campaign generated $1.2 million in under two weeks.
New Book Promotion has Readers Paying What they Want is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Digital Editions Fill the Gaps Where Library Catalogs Dwindle
|
It’s not all that surprising or even all that upsetting when you look at the data on who is actually using libraries, and how they use them. A Pew Internet study showed that only 31% of patrons who stated that they actually visit their libraries’ physical locations (as opposed to utilizing the library through a website or app) are there to read newspapers or magazines. With such a low percentage, it becomes easy to point to the periodicals as a place to save money in already cash-strapped budgets. But that doesn’t mean that periodicals readers should have to do without, of course, which is why a growing number of libraries are turning to digital circulation to meet their patrons’ needs. Moreover, through digital subscriptions like Pressreader, Next Issue, or Zinio, libraries can actually increase the numbers of titles they offer rather than continue to line the shelves with limited numbers of print editions. According to the same Pew report, 53% of patrons surveyed think libraries need more ebooks, and another 42% “definitely” believe libraries should move most of their catalogs and services to an online portal for patrons to use remotely (and additional 34% think it’s something libraries and patrons should at least consider). "Over the last few years, the shift in consumer expectations from print to digital is not to be ignored," said Vailey Oehlke, president-elect of the ALA’s Public Library Association division, to The Press Enterprise. "A lot of libraries are looking at their collections and determining where best to invest their limited resources in terms of what the community wants.”
Digital Editions Fill the Gaps Where Library Catalogs Dwindle is a post from: Good e-Reader |
How to load an SD Card on the Kobo H2O
| One of the the biggest questions and concerns people have with the new Kobo H2O e-reader is how do you load in an SD Card. This reader has a waterproof flap at the very bottom which protects the Micro SD and Micro USB ports from the water and dust. Today, we show you exactly what you need to do to insert an SD card properly.
How to load an SD Card on the Kobo H2O is a post from: Good e-Reader |
Bruna Bookstore Claims e-Readers are Dead
|
Bruna Bookstore has recognized that selling e-books individually is passe. They are intending on following the footsteps of Kindle Unlimited and Oyster in a bid to offer a Netflix for e -books service in the Netherlands. The new service will be called Bliyoo and they will offer both e-books and digital magazines. They are still trying to secure a number of publishers, but have said that they currently have 75% of all the e-books in the Netherlands in their library. The price has not been defined yet, but Zeegers indicates 9.99 euros per month makes sense. The company will be launching a series of apps for Android and iOS, but is excluding e-readers. “We have deliberately chosen an Android and iOS app. The e-reader has had its day, more and more people are reading on your phone or tablet. Therefore it is important for me that the books and magazines you read, all devices are accessible. So you can stop reading on one device and transfer your content to another. ” said Zeegfers. He also mentioned that “e-Readers have no future.” Bruna Bookstore Claims e-Readers are Dead is a post from: Good e-Reader |
