Good E-Reader Magazine
Michael Kazlew
Published by Good E-Reader at Smashwords
Letter from Editor in Chief
The Good E-Reader Magazine has increased from 20 pages this month to almost 60! We worked really hard this month to get you more stories and news items! We have even more Tablet PC, E-Reader and E-Book News than ever before! We would also like to welcome Nora our new Editor for the Magazine and the Good E-Reader Blog! The Good E-Reader Magazine continues to be the leading magazine devoted to E-Readers and Tablet Computers!
We pride ourselves in striving for the best quality articles and stories from the industry. Every other issue that we have monthly has an interview with various CEO’s in the industry to give us insight on the business aspect of creating new devices and technology in the industry. Next month we will be featuring “letters to the editor” the best question of the month will receive a brand new Kobo E-Reader! So make sure you email your questions in to letters@goodereader.com
Contributing Authors
Michael Kazlew
Living in Vancouver Canada, Michael has been writing about electronic readers and technology for the last three years. His articles have been picked up by local news sources and networks such as the Huffington Post. Michael currently owns a Barnes and Noble Nook E-Reader and an Apple I-pad
Contact: Michael@goodereader.com
Sovan Mandal
Sovy has been a freelance writer for several years now and has done numerous articles for Goodereader.com. He considers himself a fulltime writer with a passion for articles on technology. He also has a fond interest in topics ranging from just about anything from science, short stories, and novels to works of fiction. He currently resides in Kolkata, India.
Contact: iamsovy@gmail.com
Nick Shuster
Nick Shuster works in the media quite regularly. From film to on-the-street interviews, nick is quite involved in the who’s and what’s of the city. His interviews and many projects typically revolve around the latest technologies but can stretch as far as the latest theatrical releases, all the way to the do’s and don’ts of dating. Raised in Malibu CA, Nick now lives in Los Angeles CA. He found that being in L.A. gives him a lot to work with when it comes to being where the action is.
Contact: nick@goodereader.com
Diaconita Mihai
Diaconita is the resident graphic designer who has put together this magazine layout. He currently resides in Romania. He is a professional web designer and graphic designer. His philosophy entails clean and unique designs. Contact: office@netdesignr.com
Table of CONTENTS
DTK Tablet PC
1&1 SmartPad
Amazon Purchases Woot.com
Fujitsu Lifebook
Toshiba eBook Store
HP Completes Palm Acquisition
Pioneer Dreambook ePad
Sony Price Slash on E-Readers
Toshiba and Intel’s new Tablet PC
LG Android Tablet due in Q4
Mystery eBook Preview for August
Vampire and Paranormal eBook Preview for August
Intel working on new Tablet Computers
Samsung E-Reader on Pause for USA Market
iPad Dining out Apps
HTC Quells Tablet PC for 2010
Amazon Patents Dual-Screen E-Reader
Hipi Touch Tablet
Barnes and Noble Nook Study Preview
Elonex 710 EB E-Reader Review
Acer LumiRead passes the FCC
IPad new OS Update News
Interead and Cool-ER goes Bankrupt
Kobo E-Reader packaged with new Firmware Update
PalmPad may be the name of HP’s WebOS Tablet
Sharp to release new Tablet and eBook Store
Amazon’s Price Slash on Kindle Triples E-Reader Sales
Gemei Launches Color E-Reader
Palm WebOS Update Later this Year
Amazon Lands a Controversial Publishing Deal
HP Slate China Knock Off - May Beat the real one to the market
Notion Ink may have found an Investor
$35 Tablet from India
Android 3.0 the Future for Tablets
E-Readers start to fall with the rise of Tablets
Microsoft and ARM reach a Deal
XMDF E-Book standard from Sharp
Windows 7 not in the Cards for the HP Slate
Motorola Tablet PC in the Works
HP Developing Trans-Reflective Screen
Witstech Dual Booting Android/Windows Tablet
Cisco Business Tablet out Soon
TK netbook / tablet PC
Tablet PCs have been sprouting up all parts of the world and it seems the Middle East too has joined the race. For the latest tablet PC news from the Middle East is that DTK Computer has launched a net book that can also play the role of a touch tablet gadget with equal ease. The two in one gadget named the Swift I Touch operates in this manner: The basic iTouch device has a 10 inch multi-touch display which is based on capacitive technology. The device allows the screen to be folded or turned by 180 degrees and it is this transformation action that converts the device from a netbook to a tablet. It even included a stylus for ease of use.
The base processor is an Intel Atom N450 with a clock speed of 1.66 GHz and runs the Microsoft Windows 7 Starter Edition. The two in one device has 1 GB of onboard memory which can be upgraded to 2 GB. It also comes with a 320 GB hard disk drive while weighing in at around a kilo. A 1.3 MP camera and Wi-Fi connectivity is standard fitment on the Swift I Touch and includes the option of 3G broadband as well. “DTK has been at the forefront of introducing innovative, high-performing technologies that address consumer customer needs for increased computing capacity, greater performance, scalability and reliability.
The DTK has an easy-to-use interface built as a small form-factor at a low-cost”. Nimer Al Attal, who is the MD of DTK Computer Middle East we have this to say of their exciting new product. Pricing for the device is also quite reasonable at AED 1,599 without the 3G option, which translates to around $450. The product is available at all the DTK distributors and resellers shops in the region though there has been no word about its international availability as yet.
1&1 SmartPad Due August
There is a rush of Tablet PC in Germany. Acceptance of orders for the Neofonie WeTab is about to begin and there is another lined up already called the 1&1 SmartPad Android tablet from the German cable Internet provider. And the good thing is, this tablet is scheduled to be launched this July itself. The 1&1 SmartPad has a 7 inch LCD WVGA touchscreen display upfront and a 500 MHz ARM11 processor behind it. Screen resolution stands at 800 x 480 though it’s not known whether it will be capacitive or resistive.
The SmartPad has 256 MB of DDR RAM and another 1 GB of storage capacity. There is also a 2GB SD card included in the package.
The SmartPad comes integrated with 802.11 g/b/n Wi-Fi for connectivity though 3G has been made an optional extra. However, for anytime and anywhere Internet connection, a USB WWAN dongle can be made use of which stands in as a means to connect to cellular data networks. The OS is Google’s Android 1.6 with the gadget makers assuring an upgrade to the latest 2.2 Froyo by September. One would get about 100 preinstalled Android Apps with the tablet, which includes the standard application packages like eBook reader, photo viewer, social media, music player and weather. The SmartPad will also allow its users access to the 1&1’s on-demand video service, Maxdome.
No subscription to the Google android online market is provided through with the purchase. Instead, there is a propriety app store developed with the help of Germany’s AndroidPit that you have to rely on though unfortunately, choice of apps is severely restricted, with just 100 apps currently available. One would be able to purchase a docking station as well from the dealer at the time of purchase, which has an integrated subwoofer as well as a remote control.
Fujitsu Lifebook TH700 now on sale
If one were to look minutely into the Fujitsu site one would note the listing of a new product which is tucked away discreetly among the other contents of the site.
This is a new Tablet PC which appears to be very much consumer oriented for it has all the features associated with a Fujitsu product but with a low price tag of $1149 or $1099 if taken by mail with a rebate. This makes it cheaper than other offering from the Fujitsu stable though the price is still twice what any other working class notebook would cost. The device named Lifebook TH700 has a 12.1 inch dual-mode WXGA LED display with 1280 x 800 resolutions that is sensitive to multitouch finger gestures while also being able to accept active stylus operations for a more precise input. Behind the screen is a 2.26GHz Intel Core i3-350M Processor coupled to 4GB of DDR3-1066 dual-channel RAM along with a 320 GB HDD and a HD graphics card from Intel. The TH700 is also a bit thicker in dimension, which makes the TH700 different from the general trend of tablet PC that we have come to know of to be sleek handy devices sporting minimalistic dimensions though its dimensions should be OK if the Lifebook is considered from the point of view of tablet-style hybrid devices.
It therefore differs from a T900 to a great degree, though the difference can be acceptable considering the TH700 to be an entry level Tablet. The tablet features a bi-directional swivel hinge and comes loaded with goodies like the dual digitizer that is receptive to pen input, a fingerprint scanner, HDMI output along with a webcam and dual microphone for video conferencing purpose. Then there are the usual connectivity options of Bluetooth and 802.11BGN. The tablet features a sturdy latch for opening the top and has removable dust filter and hard drive shock sensor that ensures maximum protection to the stored data even during the unlikely scenario of any knocks and drops.
A DVD burner and a six-cell 5,200mAh battery which Fujitsu says will be good enough for a 5 hours runtime rounds off the specs sheet. Also, at more than a thousand dollars apiece, the Lifebook is certainly a lot more expensive than the iPad though what we have with the Lifebook is a device functionality of a full desktop OS – the Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bits along with the active digitizer. This Lifebook is also expected to give stiff competition to the TouchSmart TM2 from HP notwithstanding the price difference between the two.
Toshiba to launch new eBook Store powered by Bilo
The Latest Good E-Reader news has Toshiba getting into the E-Books game by launching their own store in the next two weeks.
The Toshiba eBook Store will be called the “Toshiba Book Place” powered by the Bilo E-Reading software. The Book Place will offer a full-color, 3-D, interactive reading experience – powered by Blio, the world’s most engaging and innovative e-reading software.
Toshiba Book Place brings books to life with a variety of unique features, including audio in multiple languages, hyperlinks, note-taking and exporting, text-to-speech capabilities and much more. The one good factor to the Book Place is that it uniquely brings to life children’s books. The huge factor is that these books have more than one character voices taking the roll of various characters within the book. It also will offer such E-Books, such as cookbooks and travel books (download recipes or follow a video to a distant land)