Items tagged with reader
"Wait just a moment, will you?" That's a question being posed by Barnes & Noble, which has come out swinging to address prior rumors that the Nook hardware business was being phased out completely. The bookseller has been mired in difficulties over the past few years, as the digital age weighs heavy on its traditional paper business. But the Nook has seemingly been a bright spot in the lineup, and despite competition from Amazon and tablet makers the world over, it appears that the Nook business has life left in it. The company's latest financial report makes clear that "new Nook products are planned," and it is "confirming" its commitment to Nook: both the device and content sides of the...
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Facebook is officially in the big leagues in terms of events. In fact, we're pretty sure the social networking company has held more events in 2013 than even Amazon. Who would've thought that just a year or so ago? As Facebook morphs into more than just a community of friends, the company is taking ever larger risks. Just look at Facebook Home, for example, as well as the Social Graph from a few months ago. Now, Facebook is readying another new product, and it may be the biggest one yet: a news reader. With Google Reader shutting down, there's a huge open hole for a big name to fill. Yes, Feedly is stepping up in some regard, but Facebook's mysterious invite sure makes us think "news." The company's...
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While the e-reader market isn't exactly exploding in the way smartphones are, there are still plenty to go around -- and plenty of demand to be filled. Kobo seems to be doing just fine keeping up with Amazon's Kindle line and B&N's Nook range, and today it's introducing a limited-run unit to please those looking for something a bit more uncommon. It's the Aura HD E Link eReader, boasting a 6.8" E Ink display and shipping in ivory, expresso and onyx colors. It'll be up for pre-order soon for $170, boasting a 1GHz processor, 4GB of storage, and Wi-Fi. Wayne White, EVP and General Manager of Devices, isn't holding back on his adoration: "To us, the Kobo Aura HD is the Porsche of eReaders and...
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Anyone who finds themselves strapped in an airplane on a regular basis knows that "chime" all too well. It's the sound of hitting 10,000 feet on the way up (liberating) and the sound of hitting 10,000 feet on the way down (depressing). Kidding aside, this arbitrary measure has somehow forced modern passengers to hold tight on booting up their tablets, phones, MP3 players and laptops... and for what reason? The myth of cellular radios screwing with a plane's GPS system has been busted time and time again, yet still, the runway is seemingly no place for a notebook. Oddly, it's okay to read a 50lb. copy of War and Peace while taking off, but you can't read the same novel on a near-weightless Kindle....
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We already covered the sad, sad notion that Google is shutting down its famed Reader RSS platform, and that has left many RSS loyalists looking for an immediate alternative. And now, Digg is taking advantage of the situation. Digg was once a huge force in the social sharing game, but as Facebook, Twitter and newer forms of networking took off, Digg usage began to sink. After a fresh redesign, the team is now placing a "top priority" tag on the building of an all new RSS reader. And the goal, of course, is to capture as many ex-Reader users as possible. In order to do so, the company is accelerating a plan it said was already in the works -- a plan to construct its own reader. In fact, it's even...
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Are you a frequent user of Google Reader? Tough luck! Google has had an ongoing "spring cleaning" for a few years now, shutting down peripheral services and items that it simply can't find time to focus on as a more mature, publicly-traded company. For the most part, the shut-downs have only angered a minority, but it seems the decision to sunset Reader has awaken a hornet's nest. While RSS as a whole isn't quite as popular as it once was, Reader was one of the more popular ways to view 'em. And, perhaps more importantly, a lot of services used Reader in some way or another. In addition to Reader, which is scheduled to be killed in July, there's also Google Building Maker, Cloud Connect, and...
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Convergence seems to be the name of the game these days, and ADATA's riding that bandwagon. The company has just launched an interesting mishmash of products: a wireless storage reader and power bank. The DashDrive Air AE400 is a wireless reader that can read and stream data from USB storage media and SD memory cards, and also functions as a power bank that can charge other mobile devices. The AE400 can be an easy to operate wireless hotspot, with support for 802.11 b/g/n wireless networking. When functioning as a network bridge, the internet connection can be shared by up to 10 devices at the same time. As a storage reader, the AE400 enables wireless data transfer between mobile devices and...
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Amazon's Kindle line has been tearing it up, or so we're led to believe. The company still has yet to reveal hard sales figures, but it's pretty clear from the expansion that things are doing well enough to support the standalone business. Now, the company has said that Voice Guide and Explore By Touch features are slated to land on Kindle Fire and Kindle Fire HD 7" by early next year, giving users another reason to snag one for Christmas and await a surprise shortly after. For years features such as text-to-speech and adjustable font sizes have helped vision-impaired Kindle owners enjoy books more easily and those with learning disabilities to improve their reading skills. Now, two new accessibility...
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Dear, brave shoppers -- it's Black Friday once more. Are you staying in, and heading our with armor in tow? If so, you may want to place yet another item on your list: it's not just a discounted Nook Simple Touch, but a Limited Edition model. Announced specifically with Black Friday in mind, Barnes & Noble has released a limited run of white Simple Touch units. That's right -- a limited white unit, on Black Friday. The paradox is obvious, no? The price is $79, and according to B&N, it'll only be available today. The normal price is $99, but if in fact they only made enough for a 24 hour shopping spree, unopened units may fetch more on the secondhand market, particularly as the holidays...
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Amazon's Kindle ecosystem is growing at an alarming rate. The company's cloud services are obviously catching on, and with Amazon's prowess in hosting files for everyone else in the world, it makes sense that they'd flex that muscle internally, too. The newest initiative is Whispercast for Kindle. It's described as a free, self-service tool aimed at schools and businesses that need to manage large deployments of Kindles. The whole idea is a fascinating one; learning via digital means is gaining traction, and while tablets or laptops sound great, they're pretty pricey. The Kindle Fire or Kindle e-readers, however, are much more affordable for school budgets. In addition to managing across Kindle...
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E-readers are a dime a dozen, but they aren't quite a dime in cost. But it's getting close. While e-reader prices overall have been sinking lately, this sets a new bar. A new low bar, that is. The new Txtr Beagle is said to be the world's smallest e-reader, and perhaps the cheapest as well. It doesn't require any cables or chargers, and is the first e-reader to receive e-books sent from a smartphone. The unit itself is just 5mm thick, weighing 128 grams and operates using two AAA batteries. Users can start reading any of the preloaded eBooks or book previews in seconds by simply switching the device on and selecting the book of choice. The txtr beagle communicates with the txtr Android reading...
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Microsoft likes to read too, you know? If not, you do now. Barnes & Noble has today announced the completion of their previously announced strategic partnership in NOOK Media LLC, a recently formed Barnes & Noble subsidiary that relies on a partnership with Microsoft. The new company is being established in order to further embrace education and consumer electronics segments, as it comprises the digital and College businesses of Barnes & Noble. All told, Microsoft is forking over $300 million for the opportunity "As demand for digital content continues to increase, we are focused on bringing ground-breaking reading and learning content and technologies to more people in more formats...
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E-readers seem to be going the way of the netbook. And strangely, it seems that netbooks and e-readers both have a single product segment to blame: tablets. As more and more users found tablets to be a suitable, more portable substitute for netbooks, so have avid bookworms. Instead of springing for a device that just reads, why not pick up a multifaceted product like the iPad, Kindle Fire or Nexus 7 for just a bit more? Still, the e-reading market isn't quite dead yet, and indeed, Sony's still looking to make new headway in a maturing market. The new Reader, PRS-T2, was launched today. It's a 6" device that sleeker and slimmer than prior iterations, and it'll ship in red, white or matte black....
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Microsoft sure has been making the news quite frequently, and not all of it has to do with Windows or Xbox. This week, the company is announcing a strategic partnership in a new Barnes & Noble subsidiary, which will reportedly "accelerate the transition to e-reading, which is revolutionizing the way people consume, create, share and enjoy digital content." It's interesting to think about this given that Microsoft itself killed a 'Courier' project a few years back that had the chance to eat the Kindle's lunch (let alone the Nook), but now, Microsoft is left to buddy up with companies still in that game in order to get a slice of the pie. The new subsidiary will initially be called Newco, and...
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