Category Archives: eReaders

Back to the Future of eReading: Kindle Beginnings

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With all the recent Kindle news, I thought it might be interesting to look back at the very first Kindle and the eBook climate at that point in time.  Here’s Jeff Bezos on the Charlie Rose Show in 2007 talking about the first Kindle and what Amazon was trying to accomplish.  So much has changed since then, it is unbelievable!

Amazon Press Conference Coverage

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Amazon’s Press Conference at Stage 37 in New York is scheduled to begin at 10 AM, eastern time.  If you are as eager as I am, here’s a guide to those who are live blogging the event:

Len Edgerly of The Kindle Chronicles will be live blogging for Kindle Nation Daily at http://bit.ly/LEN-LIVE-FROM-NY-ON-KTAB.

CNET’s David Carnoy will be live blogging for the tech site at 10AM at http://reviews.cnet.com/8301-33198_7-20112398-286/amazons-press-event-wed-7-a.m-pt-live-blog/?tag=mncol;txt.

Harry McCracken will be covering the event for Technologizer at http://technologizer.com/amazon/.

BGR will be covering the event at http://www.bgr.com/2011/09/28/live-from-amazons-kindle-fire-tablet-event.

Find any more? Please leave them in the comments.

Looking for a eReader deal?

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Kindle 2I seem to get quite a few visitors looking for bargains on eReaders, so I thought I would pass these on.

Woot.com frequently has eReaders on sale. Like many of their items, these are refurbished, but the prices are quite reasonable. Today (May 23rd, 2011) there are several deals, probably because Barnes and Noble is scheduled to make a big announcement tomorrow that most experts are guessing will be about a new, improved eReader. Here are today’s deals:

Refurbished second generation Kindle – With 3G for only $89.99 plus $5 shipping

Refurbished Nook at deals.woot.com from dailysteals.com – Original Nook 3G and Wi-fi for only $85.00 plus $5 shipping

You can also find bargain eReaders on eBay. Today’s dailydeal is a brand new Nook Wi-fi for $99.00 with free shipping. Barnes & Noble also sells books, Nooks, the Nook color and various accessories for the Nook in their eBay store.

This blog entry composed while listening to Best of Leadbelly

iFlow is closing down

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iFlow Reader has issued an announcement that they are ceasing operations May 31, 2011. The company states that its demise is due to Apple’s new 30% in-app pricing policies, saying:

We absolutely do not want to do this, but Apple has made it completely impossible for anyone but Apple to make a profit selling contemporary eBooks on any iOS device. We cannot survive selling books at a loss and so we are forced to go out of business. We bet everything on Apple and iOS and then Apple killed us by changing the rules in the middle of the game. This is a very sad day for innovation on iOS in this important application category. We are a small company that thought we could build a better product. We think that we did but we are powerless against Apple’s absolute control of the iOS platform.

The announcement also gives instructions for protecting access to previously purchased books, encouraging customers to back up books to their own computers.

iFlow ended the announcement with an invitation for customers to get involved:

If you think that this move by Apple is contrary to your interests as an iOS user then we urge you to email a complaint to Apple by clicking on the link below:

Email to: Steve Jobs, Philip Schiller, and Developer Programs at Apple

Those with questions can contact the company at:  support@iflowreader.com.

(And check out the graphic on the announcement that depicts an Apple logo throwing the eReaders into the trash !)

Kindle Promotions

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Amazon is running several promotions tied in with its popular Kindle eReader.

First, just in time for Mother’s Day, you can buy a Kindle 3G or a Kindle DX and get a $25 gift card with the purchase. The promotion runs from April 27, 2011 to May 8, 2011.

Secondly, there is an exclusive promotion for owners of the new Kindle with Special Offers. You can get a $10 Amazon gift card if you purchase any item from this list of books with a Visa card. The offer is valid from April 27, 2011 to May 21, 2011.

(Please note: Both offers have special terms and conditions. Be sure to read the fine print!)

Pandigital Novel 7 inch White on Sale

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Bed, Bath & Beyond has the White Pandigital Novel Multimedia Tablet PC and Color eReader on sale. It is $169.99 with a $30.oo rebate. If you also have one of the store’s 20% coupons, you can get the item for a good price. They are also available for competitive prices at Radio Shack and Amazon.  (Note: Model number on this is the R70D256)

Like the Barnes & Noble Nook Color, Pandigital recently updated the Novel to add more android tablet functionality. These readers are tied to the Barnes and Noble bookstore. The major complaint seems to be the very slow response of the touchscreen. Read this review at CNET for the info.

That review was somewhat off-putting to me at least – a shame, because for that price (less than half the price of the Nook Color), I would have bought one.

How about you? Are you in the market for a tablet eReader? If so, what’s your price point and must-have feature?