Kindle rival on the way from Barnes & Noble? Fictionwise involved? Or maybe Plastic Logic?
A Kindle rival will be on the way from Barnes & Noble, according to a rumor cited in a number of places, including jkOnTheRun, which correctly notes B&N’s recent acquisition of Fictionwise.
Is B&N among the e-reader-related companies that have approached AT&T for wireless service? Perhaps, though it could have happened through a partner.
Fictionwise, which B&N bought for $15.7 million, has sold its eBookwise-branded machines from ETI. Another possibility would be Plastic Logic, with which Fictionwise already has a business relationship.
ePub capability would also be a nice touch for a B&N reader if the rumor is true, and I suspect it will be there, through Fictionwise software.
Let’s hope that BN.com will also go for FW’s nonDRMed multiformat approach in cases when publishers allow it. This would be a wonderful way for B&N to distinguish its e-book offerings from Amazon’s, assuming that Jeff Bezos doesn’t beat B&N to the punch with his own nonDRMed bookstore. Amazon already sells nonDRMed music.
April 9th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Let’s hope the commercial version doesn’t have that irritating ‘flash to black’ every time a page is turned. It’s like having a camera flash going off when turning a page in a regular book.
In the late 1960s, a friend of mine paid several hundred dollars for a pocket electronic calculator with limited features. He just bought a Kindle despite my efforts to point out that he was doing the same thing.
These gadgets remain too expensive and feature limited. The Kindle only makes sense when the alternative is toting pounds of books, proposals, manuscripts and the like on a business trip. For casual reading on the go, something like a iPhone or iPod touch makes more sense. And, unlike the Kindle, the i{Phone has numerous other uses. With a much-improved third-generation iPhone due this summer, the price of used ones should become quite reasonable.
Finally, although Apple has been a bit finicky about approving a few iPhone applications, their urge to control is nothing like Amazon’s. Apple regularly adds features to iPhones. Amazon disables them from afar.
August 20th, 2009 at 10:28 am
The nonsense of advocating buying an iPhone over a book reader is not well thought out. The $80 to $100 monthly charge for an iPhone vs. my $20-cellphone and a Sony eBook reader is an easy choice. The Sony eBook is far easier on my eyes, and far cheaper than alternatives.
August 20th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
Hi, Duke, it’s an individual matter. Like you, I dislike the idea of a subscription fee, but some people need cellphone service anyway, so why not an iPhone? I myself use an iPod Touch to run Stanza, the same app that works on the iPhone; and I graciously let myself use my own WiFi at no charge.
Thanks,
David