A number of sources, including Ars Technica and Bloomberg, report that Research In Motion is rumored to be turning to embedded software company QNX to provide the operating system for its new tablet, allegedly to be called the “BlackPad”. RIM actually bought QNX Software Systems from Harman International Industries in April for $200 million. QNX embedded software is used in a variety of devices, ranging from BMW and Porsche car audio systems to medical devices to nuclear power plants to the Crusher robot tank. It has also been released as a downloadable bootable floppy disk distribution, and has...

We reported in May on rumors of a possible Blackberry tablet device flying around. Lately, those rumors seem to have solidified. Our sister blog Gadgetell reports that Research In Motion, makers of the Blackberry, has acquired the domain name “blackpad.com” from the previous owner, who had owned it since 2002. CNet ties together some other reports, including a post from Bloomberg in which anonymous sources claim the device is going to be Blackberry’s crack at killing the iPad, having similar specs and pricing to the wifi-only version, and will launch by November. The tablet...

If refurbished $109 Kindles aren’t your thing, perhaps you might be interested in a penny Blackberry. TechDealDigger reports that Amazon is offering the normally-$200 Blackberry Bold 9000 for one cent when you sell your soul to activate a new service plan with AT&T. Though the Blackberry has largely become an “also-ran” to the iPhone, I gather that there are still a number of e-book apps available for it (including Kindle, eReader, and the official MobiPocket reader that is still missing from the iPhone). Of course, compared to the amount you would be shelling out over the life of...

In observance of the announced-for-summer Kindle Reader for Android, CNet’s Josh Lowensohn takes a look at the existing Kindle Reader versions for other platforms and compares how well they come off. My own review only compared the PC, iPhone, and iPad versions; it is interesting to learn more about the Blackberry and Macintosh versions. Gizmodo has spotted the Kindle in a slightly unusual place—being used by the evil lizard-aliens on the V revival. Amusingly, the Kindle in question is very blatantly displaying an “empty battery” screen. Gizmodo makes much of the fact that a Kindle, not...

Barnes & Noble is offering a new free e-book every week for the next few weeks, with a twist: to redeem the e-book download, you have to come into a Barnes & Noble store and show them your Nook or your general-purpose device (iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch, Blackberry, HTC HD2, PC, or Mac) running Barnes & Noble’s eReader. (Or just bring the device and the staff will help you put eReader on it.) You then receive a voucher you can redeem at B&N’s website to download your e-book. On the one hand, this seems to negate one of...

If you are a Blackberry owner you may want to take a look at this review by Jason Reese of Geardiary. Jason liked the app and found that reading on the Blackberry was just fine. What I Like: Free. Easy to use and navigate. I consider the Kindle app for Blackberry to be a “Gateway” app. It makes it convenient to purchase and read eBooks on the go, in between appointments, during those times you find yourself waiting in line or commuting (if you’re not driving ), but it won’t replace a fully dedicated eBook...

BlackBerry is coming up in the world. OverDrive has just announced the release of a public beta of an audiobook app that can download audiobooks from libraries and major online retailers such as Barnes & Noble. The app can be downloaded here. Previously OverDrive released audiobook apps for Windows Mobile and Android, and they say that an iPhone app is planned for the near future....

Great news for Blackberry owners. According to this Amazon news release the Kindle ereading software is now available on the Blackberry platform. It has the same Whispersync technology that is used in the Kindle and iPhone and so can keep your ebook in sync between your Kindle and your Blackberry device. Interestingly, the website lists the software as beta. It can be downloaded here, and supports the Bold 9000, Bold 9700, Curve 8520, Curve 8900, Storm 9530, Storm 9550 and Tour 9630. You can download a link to install the program from the link above, or you...

Erictric has an article about these two upcoming applications and a link for you to sign up to be notified when they are released. Unfortunately neither of them will display newspapers, magazines or blogs (and neither does the iPhone app) and the Blackberry application will be available in the US only. I'm waiting for the Mac application, myself. (via Resource Shelf)...

I ran across a post in the baen.EBookReader forum of Baen’s Bar from someone who said he got “format bait-and-switched” by Barnes and Noble. He said he ordered the e-book of D. D. Barant’s Dying Bites expecting to get the eReader format, which is what they had last time he shopped there. Instead, he  got an ePub—which didn’t do him any good because he reads e-books on his Palm. Curious, I went to Barnes & Noble to check for myself. I loaded up the page and cast myself in the role of the average consumer who knows...

Earlier today, I happened to be looking back at a post I wrote three months ago, casting the iPod Touch as “Apple’s game-changer”. Today in the New York Times, Jenna Wortham wrote that “Apple’s game-changer” is something else: the entire App Store concept. “[Before the App Store came about, it] took six to nine months to build a relationship with a carrier, maybe a quarter-million to get the infrastructure built, and the company took 50 percent or more from each dollar,” [Flurry marketing executive Peter] Farago says, a process that limited access to mobile platforms....

Rupert Murdoch marches on in his crusade to charge for content. Murdoch has lately announced that the Blackberry and iPhone Wall Street Journal readers, currently free, will soon begin charging for access. The fee is to be $2 per week for those who do not subscribe to the Journal at all, $1 per week for print or on-line subscribers, and free to those who subscribe to both the print and on-line editions. It is tempting to shake my head sadly at Murdoch’s apparent drive to strip away all relevance from his paper. But on the other hand, the...