As you have probably noticed, YouTube and similar sites are full to bursting with all manner of videos about the world of ereaders, accessories and everything you can think of to do with this topic.
I have used many of these videos in various posts, but so far I have not in any way indicated that there is a video in a particular post. So I thought it would be useful to build up a sort of library here of such videos, arranged in such a way that you can easily find a video here that relates to a particular ereader or topic.
Most of these posts will not be much more than a brief introduction to the video, letting you know what it contains, and what aspects of the given device it looks at, rather than full length posts that have a video in them incidentally. This way you should easily be able to know if a particular video is of interest to you or not.
Since there will be one hell of a lot of them in no time, it would be sensible for you to use the Blog’s search function – which is on the top right hand side of the screen
I hope you will find this section useful.
Do let me know if it is, or if you find it too difficult to find your way around in.
Just a small taster to give you an idea of what we shall soon have in our ereaders
In a couple of earlier posts I discussed this newest screen technology from Qualcomm, which goes under the name of Mirasol. An intriguing system akin to e-Ink that can give us loads of rich colours on our ereaders, without the problems associated with the LCD screens that all previous mobile devices (iPads, Tablets, Smart Phones laptops and all earlier colour ereaders) use.
Since when, a new short promo video of the South Korean ereader has been released which gives in a matter of a few sentences a very good overview of what this screen (and ereader) are capable of. Quite impressive for a non backlit LCD screen I would say. Basically what they have created is a small tablet that can be used comfortably in bright light and with a long battery endurance.
So I am certain that this screen technology will very rapidly start to appear in all manner of other mobile devices.
Anyhow, here is that short video, sit back and enjoy it.
Here is an extremely detailed video review of the Fire Tablet, Amazon’s, latest device, showing in great detail all it is capable of doing for us.
This video is rather long, but in my view well worth watching in its entirety if you are contemplating buying yourself one.
As I have remarked in another post about this device, it’s main purpose I feel sure is to get us to go and buy things from Amazon, so in fact it is actually a rather expensive entry ticket to the greatest department store in the world – Amazon.
So now you know all there is to know about the Fire Tablet.
I am not really sure why they chose to make it so small, seems to me to be another Colour Nook ereader in fact, but, and this is a big but, it is of course the gateway to the excellent online set-up that Amazon have built up over the years, so it has to make this into the best and currently cheapest device for all your online shopping and media experiences… But is remains a very small screen……
Display7″ multi-touch display with IPS (in-plane switching) technology and anti-reflective treatment, 1024 x 600 pixel resolution at 169 ppi, 16 million colors.
Size (in inches)7.5″ x 4.7″ x 0.45″ (190 mm x 120 mm x 11.4 mm).
Weight14.6 ounces (413 grams).
System RequirementsNone, because it’s wireless and doesn’t require a computer.
On-device Storage8GB internal (approximately 6GB available for user content). That’s enough for 80 apps, plus 10 movies or 800 songs or 6,000 books.
Cloud StorageFree cloud storage for all Amazon content
Battery LifeUp to 8 hours of continuous reading or 7.5 hours of video playback, with wireless off. Battery life will vary based on wireless usage, such as web browsing and downloading content.
Charge TimeFully charges in approximately 4 hours via included U.S. power adapter. Also supports charging from your computer via USB.
Wi-Fi ConnectivitySupports public and private Wi-Fi networks or hotspots that use 802.11b, 802.11g, 802.11n, or enterprise networks with support for WEP, WPA and WPA2 security using password authentication; does not support connecting to ad-hoc (or peer-to-peer) Wi-Fi networks.
USB PortUSB 2.0 (micro-B connector)
Audio3.5 mm stereo audio jack, top-mounted stereo speakers.
Rich Adin has posted a really entertaining video on his blog (An American Editor) for our amusement, and I felt had to share it with you guys as well…..
Sit back and enjoy this clever satire on Wall Street and the world of ereaders from The Rick Mercer Report.
A video interview in which the whole operating principles of e-Ink are explained in simple terms, as well as a look at what the future holds for e-Ink, and the various possible devices we might find it being used on – such as credit cards, watches and all manner of other things. Good fun to contemplate.
I shan’t paraphrase what the guy has to say for himself, as it is all perfectly clearly explained in the almost 20 minute long video below.
So, simply sit back and watch as it is all explained.
So, did you manage to watch it all the way through? If you did, you are now much better informed than you were some 20 minutes ago, and should now fully understand the technology that makes your ereader work as well as it does, and be ready for the next steps in this sage.
Here are some videos that Sony have put out there to show us what the PRS-T1 ereader can offer us……..
In a spirit of helpfulness, I thought you might find this small set of videos from Sony’s Youtube channel might interest you and perhaps persuade you to buy one – or more – of them when they are actually released for sale quite shortly.
In a couple of earlier posts on this ereader, I have briefly discussed the various technical aspects of it, so I shant do that again here, merely give you the links to those posts, so you can check them yourself if you are interested.
Once the PRS-T1 is actually released, then I shall have a full and comprehensive look at it, and report back to you all about it, even to the most intimate and private details about it………
But in the meantime, here are those videos for you to watch………..
Changing the font on a PRS-T1 ereader:
How to use the WiFi with the PRS-T1 ereader
And lastly, a look at the PRS-T1 at the Show in Berlin, courtesy of Charbax.
So, now you have a better idea of this newest ereader from Sony….. Looks much like the PRS-650, but with a couple of extra tweaks and made of plastic rather than aluminium….
BeBook, who make all manner of ereaders will show off their newest creation at IFA Consumer Electronics fair in Berlin this September, we are told in a longish and rather coy Press Release.
Here is an excerpt from it to give you an idea of what I meant…….
Introducing : The BeBook Club ‘S’
Adding the ‘S’
‘S’ for ‘Sports’, due to a new controller, page turning on the BeBook Club ‘S’ is faster and makes it our fastest member of the BeBook family!
‘S’ for ‘Screen’, Instead of a regular E-Ink screen, the BeBook Club ‘S’ comes with a high contrast Pearl E-Ink screen.
‘S’ for ‘Storage’, we doubled up the internal memory……
And so it goes on for quite some time.
This newest ereader from BeBook is to all appearances a rather neat little gadget, small enough to be easy to carry around with us, yet equally large enough for pleasant and relaxed reading of our ebooks.
BeBook Club Mark II in fact:
In fact what it will be is a new version of their already existing BeBook Club ereader with a couple of improvements, but in actual use exactly the same.
No touch screens here:
Unusually these days it doesn’t have a touch screen, but instead relies on a range of buttons for all navigation around the device, but these are well placed by and large, both for left- handed or right-handed users all of which you will see from the Promo Video I have placed here of the current BeBook Club ereader, they all work perfectly well, and intuitively enough.
Also no WiFi……..
Curiously it also has no WiFi or 3G connectivity, so you will need a computer to search for and download ebooks, and to charge its internal batteries – via the supplied USB cable – I find this a strange lack, as nowadays almost all new ereaders come with at least WiFi connectivity.
Here is a video of the BeBook Club, this will give you an idea at least of what this new one will offer us:
This version will have a new screen, so it now works with a Pearl monochrome e-Ink screen, which owing to its higher contrast gives a very pleasing image, and they have changed its CPU to a reasonably fast Marvell 800 Mhz CPU. So navigating around one’s ebooks with this one should be a fast and pleasant activity.
Other than those changes, they have also doubled the amount of internal and external memory at your disposal, and given it a much better battery, which they are claiming will keep your ereader chugging happily along for twice as long as the battery in the existing BeBook Club.
Price:
The next important question is, what will this ereader cost? As the current BeBook Club costs about 179 Euros – depending on where you buy it, I suspect this new one will also be in that price area. If that proves to be the case, then it will have an uphill struggle to compete with the Kindle, Nook, Kobo and legion other ereaders, most of which will boast touch screens and at least WiFi connectivity. So let us hope they can offer this one for a price in the 100 to 130 Euros, then it will be interesting probably.
So, now we have to wait until the show in Berlin to actually see this newest ereader from BeBook.
BeBook Club S Specs:
Display: – 6” Pearl monochrome e-Ink
Internal memory: – 1GB
External Memory: – Up to 32 GB with SD card
WiFi – No
3G – No
Supported ebook formats – Adobe DRM protected files supported: Epub, PDF, .doc, .txt, .HTML, .djvu, .chm, .fb2, and Mobipocket. Plus, I am told a number of other formats, as yet unannounced.
Showing both how the iRiver HD ereader works and how to use it to download Google Books on it:
This video seems to me to be useful on two fronts, it is a very practical guide on how the iRiver HD ereader actually works, so a sort of “how to use it” video, and also it explains very clearly how to use this ereader with the Google online ebook store – Google Books.
As Google Books is a very new site, and thus not yet all that familiar to most people, I felt this was a useful video to draw your attention to in a spirit of being helpful.
Google Books has an incedible number of ebooks to offer you, literaly millions of them…. Loads of which are free, others you have to pay for, but still an amazing site, which I shall be looking at properly in a shortly to appear post.
The iRiver HD is the latest ereader from the iRiver people, and is chiefly notable for the extremely high resolution of its screen, which is way better than any other current ereader.
I shall place the specifications of this ereader after the video, so you can contemplate all its glories at your leasure after having discovered with the help of a remarkably svelte Chinese girl – or perhaps Korean – what it actually can do.
A whole series of useful accessories for all you lucky iPad2 owners:
In fact this is a collection of about 9 different types of cover or reading support specifically created for the iPad2, and I would think essential “must haves” if you own an iPad2.
As M-Edge CEO Patrick Mish puts it in their press release:
“The introduction of the iPad 2 gave the M-Edge creative team the opportunity to flex their design muscles and come up with extraordinary products. The new line perfectly complements the iPad 2 with elegance, style, and of course, protection.”
I shan’t give too much info here……
I shall simply tell you about them all, with minimal details, since there are so many of them…. But you will see if they are of interest to you quickly enough from either the short videos or the images of the accessories, and I will give links to their relevant page on their online shop for you to get all the details you could wish for.
The first of these new goodies is the Incline Jacket, which sells for $ 49.99 and I can do no better than show you a video of its glories, so sit back and watch as they show you what it offers you:-
Then we have the Trip Jacket which in many respects is the same as the Incline Jacket and costs the same, so $49.90. As before, here is a short video which explains exactly what it offers you.
What next?
Well then we have the Back It which is basically a plastic sheet, designed to clip onto the back of your iPad to protect it from getting scratched, it is so designed that it allows easy access to all controls and the camera, this one sells for $19.99
Moving smartly on…….
Next is the GO! Jacket which is another variation on the multiposition jackets which M-edge are justly well known for, so in many respects it is the same idea as the first two jackets above, but as you will see if you follow the link, there are differences…….
This one costs $44.99
Latitude with Theater-Stand, this is a sort of travelling cover and reading stand in one. I rather like this fellow, and can see how it would be truly handy to have as you wander through your day…. Siting in a cafe with your iPad resting gently on this one’s little support would make reading, and to a lesser extent, typing rather pleasant I would think.
Price: well this one costs $59.99 – expensive, but it is tough and versatile………..
And now to simple jackets:
They are offering two basic jackets for your iPad2, the Cambridge and the New Yorker, both tough and cheerful/stylish jackets to protect your iPad2 from the rough life of such devices in bags and pockets… (well, and iPad in a pocket? Probably not!). Anyhow, here they are:
Obviously this one is the… New Yorker Jacket And it also costs $ 49.99
And last, but by no means least, we have a smart bag to keep your iPad2 nicely tucked up in… the Pop Sleeve.
Price: Only $29.99
Bright colours:
All of the above accessories come in a range of cheerful colours, so you can buy several of them and always be colour co-ordinated…………
Design your own cover:
They also offer their “Design Your Own Cover” system with these covers as well, and having made one for our Kindle3, I know them to be superb, and rather fun to own as well, makes people sit up and talk to you when they see your competely unique ereader cover.
Where to get these goodies?
All of these useful accessories can be bought either directly online from medgestore.com or from Best Buy, Walmart or Staples.
Or even better……..
You could click on the eReadersRus banner below,and if you buy anything there, I get a commission…. always nice!
Before reading this review, please look at the comments below, as it seems that this program is based on illegally copied software from the developers of Calibre.
I have written a long post giving the complete details of this bit of piracy, which you might want to read before deciding which format changer you will use, click here to go to that post.
Hamster Free Ebook Converter is not really a competitor with Calibre, (see side bar for link to Calibre) which is the standard ebook format converter (it also does a load of other things as well), but this neat little program from Hamster seems to work pretty well at its declared task, which is to change the format of any ebook to any other format.
I downloaded and installed it, and have played around with it for a while, happily converting ebooks from one to another format with happy abandon – ePub to Mobi, TXT to HTML and so on, and they all worked perfectly when put into an ereader, so it works fine.
I have to confess I love their Logo, and would almost be inclined to get the program simply because of that mad looking Hamster……………………………………
Slight linguistic confusion:
There is one odd thing about it, or at least about the copy that I downloaded and installed, they declare that it offers about 40 languages to operate with, so no matter where you come from, you can use this program OK. But confusingly enough, my copy of it had a mix of English and Russian, so one part of any menu would be in English, the next instruction came in Russian…. Very strange. But funnily enough I didn’t find this to be any sort of a problem, as the program is so amazingly simple to use, and well laid out that even if it had been in Urdu I suspect I could have used it easily.
As you will see from the video below, it is about as simple to use as it is possible to be, simply drag the ebook whose format you wish to change into the first window, then click on next, which brings you to a list of ereaders, almost all the ereaders there are, select the ereader you want to put the ebook into, it then offers you a choice of formats which that particular ereader will accept, you then click on Convert, sit back for a short while, and it is done. Simple as that.
Calibre offers many other functions, and is perfect for those who are moderately computer literate, and wish to organise their ebooks in a number of ways, but this little program is so easy to use that I think just about anyone who is able to switch a computer on could deal with it fine.
DRM:
It wont convert any ebooks that have DRM protection sadly, so you will need to strip off the DRM protection before you can convert any ebooks that are lumbered with that annoying and pointless protection I am afraid.
Only Windows:
Hamster ebook converter only works with machines running under Windows, so bad luck all you Apple owners, sorry about that……….
Video:
So here is a short video that shows exactly how you use it, you will see what I mean about it being simple to use.
Cost? As its name tells you, it is free. In fact you get two programmes when you download this one, they also give you a free Zip and Unzip program, which also works well.
A cheap but good device to read your ebooks on…. and do a load of other things too.
The Skytex Primer Colour eReader is the latest ereader from Skytext, and seems to be pretty good value for money, as it is capable of a whole range of activities, and is also a damn good basic ereader, and is cheap too…. who could ask for more?
As its name indicates, this is a coloured screen device, a 7 inch TFT screen (not a touch screen though).
I shall pass rapidly over the various media functions this baby has built into it and concentrate on the ereader side of the thing.
As a tablet is can do almost all the things one would expect in a tablet, except, curiously browse the web as it has no WiFi connectivity, which seems to me to be a rather large mistake on their part so it is really rather more a sort of external hard disk rather than a real tablet computer, or perhaps better said, a sort of multimedia player that you can connect to your computer to load up with goodies and then take with you to amuse yourself with as you wander through your day.
As such it can show videos, play music and be used for slide shows.
It supports a most impressive number of video and image formats, as well as just about any audio format you might throw at it, specifically:
It comes with a single built in speaker on the back, but for real music listening, it has the standard jack socket for earphones or external speakers. It has an internal memory of 2GB, as well as a slot for a MicroSD card of up to 16 GB, so you can carry all your videos around with you…. Great when travelling I reckon.
The software to control all these things is also more than adequate, with all the standard audio and video controls needed to enjoy and sort out your various media files and to play them as you wish.
Further and unusually in such a device,it has an FM radio receiver built into it as well, so you can listen to your favourite music program with it, a nice idea I reckon.
So, as a portable media player this little device is a good bet.
Now, as an ereader….
It seems to be a perfectly reasonable ereader too, if you happen to prefer a coloured screen that is – in preference to a monochrome e-Ink ereader screen that is.
As with the other media it supports, it works with a wonderfully wide range of ebook formats (PDF, ePub,FB2, HTML, TXT, and Mobi), and since it also works with Adobe Digital Editions DRM system, you will be able to buy ebooks from pretty well any online ebook sellers, and in fact, if you add Calibre (see link on side bar) to your software collection, you will be able to buy and read ebooks from all ebook sellers.
As I mentioned above, this is not a touch screen ereader, so you will need to use the various buttons and keyboard to navigate around your ebooks, which can be a bit tricky, as the keyboard is the same type as on a mobile phone, that is, each button has three or four letters associated with it, which makes note taking a laborious affair, unless you happen to be one of those folk who can Text with one finger whilst talking to someone.
But as far as I am concerned, that is probably the only real down side of this otherwise excellent device.
As it has no internet connectivity, you will have to use your computer (Mac or PC) to find your ebooks, and then transfer them to the ereader via the supplied USB cable. However this is simple enough, just copy and paste from folder on computer to folder on ereader. A bit clumsy, but for anyone with a reasonable degree of computer literacy no real problem,
Another small minus point, or perhaps for some, a major one is that you can’t change the size of the fonts, this is a pity I feel. It does have a magnify (zoom in) function that meets that need to a point, but real font size changing would be good.
What else does it have to offer?
It doesn’t have an accelerometer (automatically turning the page from portrait to landscape when you rotate the device, but it does have a button that enables you to turn the image through 90 degrees, so in effect it does have have the same function as an accelerometer, just not automatic. Which if the various complaints I get about accelerometers turning the page from landscape to portrait when you don’t want it to is anything to go by, this might be the best method to achieve that result.
It has another neat trick up its sleeve, and that is if you use the volume slider, you can make the page you are reading scroll up and own, which is rather fun.
Here is a short video from Good e-Reader Review that will give you an idea about how this device actually works.
If the Sun shines, never again run out of power when out and about…….
Suntactics, a Californian company who have been making solar chargers for some time, have just come up with what seems to me to be an ideal solar charger for just about any mobile device you might happen to have, with the possible exception of laptop computers.
Glorying in the name sCharger-5 This baby delivers 5 Volts at 1 Amp when the sun is shining, which is enough to actually run most portable devices, such as ereaders, which is why I am telling you about this one, of course.
Apparently the secret is that this charger uses industrial quality high efficiency mono crystalline solar cells, which are designed for high output, unlike most small Solar Chargers, which are basically trickle chargers working through an internal battery. The sCharger-5 has no internal battery to wear out, but is a direct source of power. Obviously this has its down side, in that no sunlight, no power. But to get around this, they point out you could buy a USB battery or if your device uses AAA or AA batteries, get a USB charger for these batteries, and use this Solar charger to charge those batteries…..
It works via a standard USB connection, so basically any mobile device that can be charge via USB, will work with this one.
Or as they put it in their Press release:
This not an ordinary small solar charger. These use high efficiency mono crystalline solar cells like the ones used in industrial grade solar systems. The sCharger-5 output power is over 5 watts. See if any other small solar charger can match that power in such a small package!
Most other solar chargers use low power solar cells that produce a tiny amount of power. They use the small solar panel to trickle charge an internal battery, which takes forever! The small solar panel on them is not enough to charge your device directly. They essentially charge your USB device from their internal battery. When the internal battery fails(which it inevitably will, since it’s being baked in the sun constantly), you have to throw the whole thing away. The sCharger-5 will not only charge your device, it will run it directly from the sun.
Don’t be fooled by the 6 to 7 watt 12 volt solar chargers out there. They are not optimally setup to do USB charging. They require a DC converter to convert 12 volts to 5 volts that USB devices require. This comes out to less power and your smart phone or GPS device will have a hard time charging.
The sCharger-5 can charge a dead iPhone and most other smart phones in sometimes as little as 2 hours using only the sun. There is no internal battery to wear out and create toxic waste. Sturdy and reliable, built to last for many years. Lightweight folding design. Standard “A” type USB port. Fits into a purse, backpack or zip-up cd wallet. It will also charge AA/AAA batteries with a suitable USB charger available on the market. And if you really need that backup battery for your phone, there are affordable USB batteries all over the place that can be charged from the sCharger-5 as well. Duracell manufactures some nice USB batteries Duracell USB Batteries.
Price?
Well, it isn’t the cheapest thing out there, but if it performs as claimed, and if you lead an active outdoor life, I suppose it isn’t an unreasonable price to pay for such a handy device… So here is the bad news… It will cost you $139 if you buy it directly from their website (link below).
Video:
They have released a rather charming video to show us this gadget, apparently filmed in someone’s backyard, which is a nice touch;
BeBook have announced the launch shortly of their newest device, the BeBook Live – not in fact as is now normal, an actual dedicated ereader, but in fact yet another Android based tablet, which can be used as an ereader obviously.
Whilst I have a strong personal preference for custom made, dedicated devices to use as an ereader, I understand very well the attractions of the new wave of tablets that are hitting the market just now and can see the advantages of having a small, easy to transport device with one that is able to be used as an ereader as well as having all manner of other possible functions.
Obviously a tablet is no more an ereader in itself than any other computer (a tablet is after all simply a highly portable computer in fact). As with any other computer, one has to install software (known these days as Apps) to enable it to carry out specific desired functions. So in the case of this device, one will have to install Apps from the various sellers of ebooks, such as Kindle, Kobo, Barnes and Noble and so on in order to be able to use it as an ereader. But as all these Apps are free, this isn’t really any sort of a problem.
So, how will it be as an ereader?
This is what is of interest to us here, since this is a blog about ereaders, and not about video games, email programs and other such normal computer based functions, so we need to judge how this will perform as an ereader.
I have to confess that one huge advantage of these tablets is the fact that as ereaders, they are effectively universal ereaders, one is not tied into any particular company or type of ereader when one uses such a tablet, so one is able to get ebooks from any supplier of ebooks, without having to go through all manner of tricks to make it possible to read them on your particular ereader – just get the appropriate App and away you go… Your tablet can be a Kindle, a Sony, a Kobo or whatever ….. Not to be sneezed at. Something that the makers of dedicated ereaders will have to give serious thought to, if they wish to compete with these tablets I reckon.
For the non-technical among you guys, this means that if you want to buy your ebooks from Barnes and Noble, for example, you simply have to download and install their ereader App, and effectively your tablet becomes a Nook ereader… Or do the same with the Kindle App, and you have a Kindle ereader…. Useful.
From the specs (see below for list of specs) I have been given for this soon to be released baby, it would seem to be pretty much as good as any of the other tablets currently out there in most respects. It has a lower screen resolution than the Nook Colour tablet/ereader, but is still perfectly reasonable in that respect, having a 7 inch screen with a resolution of 800 x 600, which is pretty average for an ereader these days, and it is also a touch screen, which many people prefer to having to use lots of buttons to navigate around their ebooks. I currently use a Sony 650 ereader, which also has a touch screen, and it drives me mad, as any small insect that happens to wander around on the screen activates it, and flips pages and so on, extremely irritating if you happen to live in a place with rather a lot of flying insects, as I do. So I have a marked preference for buttons over touch screens for that reason.
It will be fast enough too, as it has a 1 GHz samsung processor in it, running under Android 2.2 (not the latest Android OS, but still a perfectly good one) and it supports all the normal computer needs, such as Flash and so on.
Further it has a front facing camera, very useful in an ereader!
Oh, and of course it is a colour screen too, as are all these Android based tablet/ereaders.
Bebook are touting this soon to be released device as primarily an ereader, which happens to be able to do other things.
Well, I suppose it will, if one allows for the normal problems associated with colour screened ereaders:
Hard to use in bright sunlight
Short battery endurance
Hard on the eyes if you want to read for long periods of time
Distractions from other functions (incoming emails and so on).
Against which one has the various advantages of such devices..
Gorgeous colours
Video playback
Loads of extra functions (depending on what Apps you choose to install on it)
And so forth.
Here is a very short video that explains things further………
Price? We are told that it will cost about $280 when it is released. This price is about twice the price of a good dedicated ereader, so you will really need to think about why you wish to buy such a device.
Where can I get it? To begin with, as always, only in the USA, but shortly afterwards, it will be available all over the world, more or less……
When can I get it? We are told it will actually be launched on 21st June…..
Yet another portable charger to keep your ereader or mobile phone alive when on top of Mount Everest.
ZAGG, who are best known for their extraordinary name and their range of screen protectors have popped up with a portable device (The ZAGGSpark) to charge your phones and ereaders.
What is it?
Essentially this is simply a box with a 6000mAh Lithium Polymer battery in it, that you charge up and then take with you when you head out to the wilderness, so not exactly the latest thing in high-tech, but extremely useful nonetheless I reckon.
It is kitted out with a standard two prong plug to plug it into the mains to charge it with (it also has an European adapter as well), a number of coloured LEDs to indicate its state of charge, and two USB ports to connect your ereader or mobile phone to it with.
Obviously, if you own a large, battery intensive device, such as an iPad, it will only give you about a half charge, but apparently with smaller devices, such as the Sony ereaders, it will happily give you a full charge, which means that you can go away for up to about 4 weeks of intensive ebook reading without having to worry about running out of juice in that time. This is useful!
It has two USB ports, as I mentioned, one is a bog standard USB port that will work with any device that uses a USB connection to charge itself, the other one is described as being “Optimised”, which apparently means it works faster than the standard one. But, this port doesn’t work with all devices, for some reason.
What is the price?
The price is relatively high I feel, but for the convenience – if you are out and about a lot, and don’t have easy access to normal means of charging your devices, it is probably well worth the price, which by the way is $99 direct from ZAGG, but at Amazon you can get it for $79 – so off to Amazon yet again, say I.
To give you a better idea of this device, here is a short video that demonstrates it in action………
So, now you know all about it……..
OK, from ZAGG’s website, here are the main features and specs:
Portable power: More than a simple extended battery, ZAGGsparq 2.0 carries multiple charges for any personal electronic device with you – including four full recharges for most power-hungry smart phones
On-the-go convenience: ZAGGsparq 2.0 fits easily in a pocket or bag, the perfect size for travelers and business people
Very compatible: ZAGGsparq 2.0 works with most USB charged gadgets, including cell phones, handheld gaming systems, digital cameras, and the Apple® iPad® (adapters for mini-USB to USB not included)
Charge multiple devices: ZAGGsparq 2.0 provides two USB charging ports: Optimized and General
Optimized: The top USB charging port is optimized for smart phones and other devices that are capable of taking an optimized charge, including Apple®’s iPhone, iPad® and iPod® family of products.
General: The bottom port uses the standard USB specification and will charge devices that do not utilize the optimized USB charging specification.
Superior Engineering: ZAGGsparq 2.0 has been specifically engineered to charge Apple®’s iPad®. It adds an additional 5 to 6 hours of video playback to the iPad®.
6,000 mAh Lithium Polymer
Has the power to charge most smart phones four times
4 yellow lights indicate power level, 25%-50%-75%-100%
Has the ability to charge multiple USB devices simultaneously
Don’t despair, dedicated ereaders are still being developed.
I came across this story on The Digital Reader blog just now, and am feeling rather comforted by it, as lately I had begun to wonder if the entire world was moving over to an endless series of Android Tablets, rather than real purpose built ereaders for us to read our ebooks on.
Happily it seems that I might be wrong in this assumption, as Hanvon, one of the biggest makers of ereaders in the world, who have the greater part of the enormous and growing Chinese ereader market for themselves to all intents and purposes are announcing new models that will appear in the course of this year.
I know, so often this sort of announcement turns out to be vapour ware, but Hanvon have a good record of actually producing the ereaders they promise us, so we shall see.
Not much information yet……..
So far not much is known about this ereader, but it seems to be pretty much the same as the olderN516 model, so, to give you an idea of what to expect, here are the specs for the N516 ereader:-
System Requirements(for download book data from usb)
Operating System
Windows® 7, XP, 2000, vista, Mac
Processor
800MHz Intel® Celeron class processor or better
Other Functions
Notepad
N/A
Memo
N/A
Page Orientation
Landscape/Portrait
So I assume that for the main part the B516 will be much as the N516, but presumably with a number of improvements, reflecting the advances that have occurred since the launch of the N516.
Price: Absolutely no idea yet, sorry.
This video gives us some indications about how it will be…. so sit back and watch.
So there is still life in the dedicated ereader world it would seem, which pleases me a lot.
Double screens to amaze us.. and one large screened one too:
Sony have just announced at an event in Tokyo that they will be launching two new Android 3.0 tablets onto the world later this year.
What we have here are the romantically named S1 and S2 Android tablets, well, these are their current names, but I suspect that at launch they will bear rather more appealing names, well, I hope so at least.
The S1:
The S1 is a large screened tablet(9.4 inch) which will come with two cameras, one rear facing, the other, logically, front facing, so you can indulge in the most extraordinary video chats with this baby. I have not yet worked out quite why anyone would want two video cameras on their devices, but I assume it meets some deep seated need that I am not aware of yet.
The S1 will be completely focused on supporting Qriocity – Sony’s music, games, ebooks, and videos on demand service that’s just been launched in Europe- and will come preloaded with Playstation integration.
One nice touch with the S1 is that it comes complete with an infra-red sender, so you may use it to control all manner of house hold gadgets…TVs and so on…. Nice thought, eh?
And for reading ebooks?
All well and good, but will it be any use as an ereader? Simple answer is yup, it will be. It also comes with the Sony ereader software, so sorting out your ebooks on it will be as easy as on any dedicated Sony ereader, thus Sony are crossing over to the current trend of ereaders being tablets and vice versa.
As this device is about the same size and weight as an iPad, Sony have taken a lot of trouble to sort out the comfort in use problems of the iPad, and designed it in such a way that the weight is placed off centre and over the users hand and wrist, giving the feeling that it is much lighter, this they call the “wrap” form. It is described as follows:
The tablet’s “wrap” design is meant to remind the owner of something personal in the way that it mimics an open paperback stuffed into the back pocket, or a magazine folded backward upon itself such that only a single page is visible to read. A design that also gives the tablet’s display enough angle to comfortably touch-type when placed on a table. It also makes one-handed operation a bit less taxing on the wrist by shifting the center of gravity to the bulbous edge of the device as in our mock-up above. A trick meant to reduce the torque that makes 10-inch tablets uncomfortable to hold one-handed for an extended length of time (when reading an ebook, for example). So even though the S1 is about the same size and weight as Apple’s iPad, we’re told that it feels lighter since most of the weight is shifted directly into the user’s hand and over the wrist. Naturally, the screen UI rotates allowing for right- or left-handed use and we’re told that it’s still comfortable to hold in landscape mode where the bulging edge is typically held at the top.
The tablet itself, we’re told, is 100 percent focused on Qriocity, It comes preloaded with Sony PS One games, a Bravia Media Remote, and PlayStation integration
Further, it has a touch screen wireless and 3G connectivity and is in all respects a very advanced bit of gear, which given the rumored price it should be. The rumours say it will go for about USD 600, so not really something you would buy without serious thought first.
The S2:
Now this is a weird one, it has two screens, relatively small (5.5-inch 1,024 x 480 pixel displays) which are built in a clam form, so you can simply click it shut and dump it in your pocket, much as with your mobile phone.
Sony takes advantage of the two screens with a custom book-style UI layout for its e-reader app, split keyboard and messaging displays for email, and split display and game controllers for PS One gaming. Both the S1 and S2 are PlayStation Certified, support DLNA, and are WiFi and 3G/4G “compatible” according to Sony.
Oh, all of this will set you back about USD 700!
So, two rather interesting devices coming soon to a store in your town – well that is if you live in Japan or America, Europe and the rest of us will have to wait a bit longer it seems before we can get our hands on either of these two marvels.
As ereaders?
Well, obviously both these devices are primarily intended as tablets, rather than ereaders – Sony have a complete range of dedicated and very good ereaders after all, but for those who simply have to have as many functions as possible united into one device, and are prepared to pay for this convenience, and are not worried by the problems of short battery endurance and the impossibility of reading in any bright sunlight situation, then either of these will be very interesting devices to own I feel.
Just to show you what they look like in action:
So, there you have them……..
Share with us:
What are your views on such devices? Are they the future for ereading or not? Do let us know your feelings about this subject.
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ave probably noticed, YouTube and similar sites are full to bursting with all manner of videos about the world of ereaders, accessories and everything you can think of to do with this topic.
Since there will be one hell of a lot of them in no time, it would be sensible for you to use the Blog’s search function – which is on the top right hand side of the screen
