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The Digital Reader

Charting the eBook Evolution since 2010

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Nook Touch to Get New Update With Web Browser, Email Client ? I Doubt it

May 19th, 2013 by Nate Hoffelder · Uncategorized → No Comments

nook touch glow light frontNook Media has shown every sign that they were getting out of the ereader business, but if today’s rumor is true then they’ll be leaving a gift behind as they go out the door.

TechCrunch is reporting that the Nook Touch and Nook Glow will be getting an update sometime next month:
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Yahoo Buys Tumblr for $1.1 Billion – Let the Neglect Commence

May 19th, 2013 by Nate Hoffelder · Blogs → No Comments

yahoo-logoYahoo’s Marissa Mayer seems to have decided that the best way to revive that firm’s flagging prospects is by buying up smaller startups. The latest company to feel Yahoo’s half-nelson affectionate embrace is the blogging service Tumblr. According to the WSJ, Yahoo’s board has approved the acquisition:
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Acer Iconia W3 Tablet Shows Up on Acer Website

May 18th, 2013 by Nate Hoffelder · fcc, hardware news → 2 Comments

iconia-w3_04Microsoft’s rumored 8″ Surface tablet is still a whisper on the wind, but it looks like one of Acer’s 8″ Windows 8 tablet is considerably more substantial.

Update: a reader tipped me to a new product page on the Acer Finland website (Thanks, quadtronix!), so I rewrote this post to focus on the new info instead of the FCC filing.


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A Week With the Kobo Aura HD Has Convinced Me That The Nook Glow HD Rumors Were True

May 17th, 2013 by Nate Hoffelder · hardware rumors, kobo, Rumors → 9 Comments

Kobo Aura HD Just under a month ago I posted a rumor that speculated that Nook Media had passed on E-ink’s new 6.8″ screen, giving Kobo a chance to be the first to the market with this incredibly high resolution screen. I had little proof at the time, but the rumor was plausible enough that I posted it.

A month has passed and I don’t have any more solid evidence than before, so I can’t yet prove this rumor true. But I have had the new Kobo Aura HD on my desk for this past week and it has convinced me that I was correct.
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Did Amazon Kill Off the Kindle Keyboard?

May 17th, 2013 by Nate Hoffelder · Amazon, hardware news → 7 Comments

kindle book stack whiteAmazon has kept their 3rd Kindle model around for nearly 3 years, and today it looks like it is on the way out.

Engadget reported this morning that the Kindle Keyboard 3G model was out of stock at Amazon, Best Buy, and Target. Normally I wouldn’t have paid attention to the story (Target hasn’t carried the Kindle since last year), but I double checked the reports and it looks like Engadget was half right.
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The Wingo Ergonomic Kindle Case is an Escapee From a Late-Night Infomercial

May 17th, 2013 by Nate Hoffelder · hardware news → 1 Comment

wingoThere is a new funding project on KickStarter that wants to raise funds to develop an ergonomic case for the Kindle.

The Wingo promises to rescue Kindle owners from the torture holding an ereader. This case is equipped with a kickstand and a pair of wings that are designed to keep your hands in the right position to hold the Kindle. And like most other cases, the Wingo also makes the Kindle thicker and thus easier to hold.
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Early User Reports Say that Sony’s New Writing Slate is Lightweight & Well-Designed (video)

May 17th, 2013 by Nate Hoffelder · hardware news, video → 2 Comments

SonySoftKB-130516 Sony astounded the world a few days ago when they formally launched the 13.3″ digital writing slate that they had been working on for the past several years. This slate has a flexible screen that was promised to be more durable and lighter than your average ereader, and an early report says that promise is true..

I still haven’t had a chance to get my hands on the new digital writing slate that Sony announced a few days ago, but I did get an email this morning from a contact in Japan. He spent a few minutes with the writing slate yesterday, and he was impressed.
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Apple is Now Banning eBooks Over Links

May 17th, 2013 by Nate Hoffelder · Apple → 4 Comments

apple-rottenApple has a long history of censoring the more risque content from ebooks sold in iBooks and iTunes, even going so far as to threaten developers like Izneo with banishment, but today they have taken it to a new level. Several newspapers including De Standaard are reporting that Apple has rejected De Hartsvriendin, Heleen van Royen’s latest book, because of 2 links found in chapter 22.

Yes, links.

Update: Apple has backed down and is allowing the ebook.
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The Morning Coffee – 17 May 2013

May 17th, 2013 by Nate Hoffelder · Morning Coffee → No Comments

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Here are a few stories to read this morning.
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New Report Reaches the Obvious (And Wrong) Conclusion: There’s No Technical Justification for Incompatible eBook Formats

May 16th, 2013 by Nate Hoffelder · Uncategorized → 32 Comments

epub3-logo[1]There’s a new report out today from the EIBF, the European and International Booksellers Federation, which says that they could not find any technical reason to justify proprietary ebook formats.

I read about this in The Bookseller:
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