Neolux, a Korean electronic paper display manufacturer, announced recently that it has developed an upgraded version of its electronic paper device, the “Nuut2.”

Nuut2 is based on an advanced chipset co-developed by E-ink and Seiko Epson. It represents only the second appearance of this configuration on the world market after Amazon’s Kindle device.

Nuut2’s response time is twice as fast as the previous version because of the improvements made to the grey levels of the black and white e-paper-from four to eight-which enables the device to display images more clearly. 

The installed e-Book reader program supports the ePUB global standard format as well as the PDF and TXT universal formats. In addition to local newspaper publishers and France’s Le Monde, Neolux anticipates that the Nuut2 device and other company solutions will attract even more customers. 

The Nuut2 will begin appearing on shelves during April; its price has not yet been determined.  [via telecomskorea]

Some specs:

1. The new EPSON Chip response speed, resolution, and display performance.
2. WiFi wireless Internet functionality by default.
3. International support with a variety of formats, including electronic books, PDF, Epub.
4. Domestic and international newspapers, English and Japanese books will include many content services.

[via nuutbook]

Shortcovers lets you read the first chapter of any book free of charge. It then gives you the option to either buy a chapter at a time, or purchase the whole book. Single chapters are expected to cost around 99 cents each, with full books averaging between $10 and $20. You’ll also have the option to have the book shipped to you physically if you prefer.

Shortcovers is owned and operated by Indigo Books & Music, supposedly the largest book retailer in Canada.

While there are e-readers for the iPhone like Stanza and services like Bookworm already available, Shortcovers will be leveraging its close ties to the publishing industry to differentiate this service.

At launch, Shortcovers expects to have about 50,000 full books available, with another 200,000 individual chapters and excerpts in its library. According to PCWorld only a third of the titles will be public domain or copyright-expired works. The rest will be current commercial offerings.

Shortcovers plans to offer news and magazine articles, short stories, and blog posts in addition to the book content. [via cnet]

Finally the wait for Amazon Kindle 2 is over! People, who want to own the revolutionary e-book reader, can immediately order for one as the company has started shipping the device. Amazon has announced the shipment of the next-generation Amazon Kindle, aptly named the Amazon Kindle 2.

Google developed Android explicitly to run on cell phones, but it is robust enough to run on other devices. Because Android is open source, and supported by a robust development community, it is a candidate to grow beyond its mobile device roots. 

The development of a USB driver brings Android operating system to the E Ink development kit. Now a new world of creative developers can extend the functionality of and write applications for this low-power screen technology.

Why E Ink?

E Ink is an electronic paper display technology with a paper-like, high contrast appearance, ultra low-power consumption, and a thin, light form. It is “bi-stable” - meaning it only uses power when it refreshes the screen. The advantages of this kind of low-power screen device updated via wireless internet access could bring this connected technology to wearable computing or other screen uses that demand long-term deployment before recharging.

Digging Deeper

MOTO labs is working towards customized solutions that employ not only Android but Ubuntu, Linux, and Adobe AIRplatforms for custom web-connected application development.  We are actively extending our multi-touch and gestural interfaces expertise to these platforms. MOTO is also developing prototypes for better remote management of connected devices with a range of approaches from Mac & PC based device management applications to over-the-air wireless firmware and software updates. Stay tuned to labs.moto.com for more on this thread.

Building a Bridge

Picture below shows how the E Ink broadsheet development kit is connected to Beagle Board via USB. A custom E Ink driver acts as the bridge.

The E Ink screen image shows the signature Android clock-scape. [via moto]

Reducing paper use does more than save trees. Pulp and paper mills are also a major source of pollution. They release into the air CO2, nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), carbon monoxide, and particulates, which contribute to global warming, smog, acid rain, and respiratory problems. In addition, bleaching paper with chlorine can produce dioxin, which is known to cause cancer. Paper mills also produce large amounts of solid waste and require a lot of water. The industry is trying to clean up, but anyone who’s driven past a paper mill has smelled the challenge.

The Amazon Kindle therefore saves 6,500 MJ and 690 kg of co2 a year. A gallon of gasoline has 131 MJ of energy and emits 8.8 kg of CO2, so switching to an e-book would be like saving 50 gallons of energy and 78 gallons of co2 emissions. A reduction of 690 kg of co2 is 3.5% of the average American’s 20 metric tons of yearly emissions. [via selfpublishingreview]

 NewspaperDirect Inc., the world leader in multi-channel newspaper and magazine content distribution and monetization, is showcasing its iPhone Reader Application and new iRex DR 1000 PressReader features at the O’Reilly Tools of Change for Publishing Conference being held in New York City, February 9-11, 2009.

PressDisplay.com’s PressReader software was introduced two months ago for the iRex Digital Reader 1000 series, resulting in thousands of downloads of the application on one of today’s hottest e-Readers. With only one PressReader software download, iRex DR1000 users can quickly and easily download hundreds of their favorite publications and read them at their leisure. This week, NewspaperDirect and PressDisplay will unveil its new PressReader features on the iRex DR1000, which will allow readers to view publications not only in a full image replica format, but now in an easy-to-read text view, with tables of contents listed and active link jumps. Unlike the Kindle e-Reader which uses RSS feeds to populate the device with limited website content, PressDisplay’s PressReader application delivers the full content of a printed edition to supported devices, giving readers more of what they want, when they want it. [via newspaperdirect]

You may use this e-book for your personal use. This e-book is protected by copyright. Please don’t make copies of it. If you think a friend would benefit from this e-book, please refer your friend to the promo page to download it.Thanks for your assistance in this matter! Download Page

• The five-way rocker is definitely a step up in terms of navigation — it makes getting around page way eaiser by allowing you to skip through individual words, and you can actually navigate simple web pages the way you’re used to.
• The new dictionary pop up (it brings up your definition on the bottom of the screen as you’re scrolling through text) is a huge win. It was a pain before, but looking up words is now super easy. Unfortunately — according to Ross Rubin — footnotes are still handled in the slow, laborious way they’ve always been.
• Text-to-speech is a nice touch, but it’s still hard to get over that computer voice. We can see using this to hear a recipe or short news article, but we’re not convinced it’ll be enjoyable for a full novel.
• Screen refresh is way, way faster than the old model (they say 20 percent). The difference is welcome and noticeable. Moving through documents and back and forth between pages is a snap now. If you’ve been frustrated with the slowness before, this will be a big relief.
• The size difference is pretty remarkable. If you loved the crazy old design, you’ll be disappointed, but the tradeoff in thickness is probably worth it. Furthermore, the new button placement is a big improvement, one which will likely make those accidental page turns a thing of the past. [via engadget]

Amazon launches new Kindle 2 on their site (pre sales only).  As you see the Kindle 2 is slim but largest than Kindle 1 which is a bit odd for me.

Compare dimensions:

Kindle 1 - Size (in inches): 7.5″ x 5.3″ x 0.7

Kindle 2 - Size (in inches): 8″ x 5.3″ x 0.36″.

Here the other details:

Slim: Just over 1/3 of an inch, as thin as most magazines
Lightweight: At 10.2 ounces, lighter than a typical paperback
Wireless: 3G wireless lets you download books right from your Kindle, anytime, anywhere; no monthly fees, service plans, or hunting for Wi-Fi hotspots
Books in Under 60 Seconds: Get books delivered in less than 60 seconds; no PC required
Improved Display: Reads like real paper; now boasts 16 shades of gray for clear text and even crisper images
Longer Battery Life: 25% longer battery life; read for days without recharging
More Storage: Take your library with you; holds over 1,500 books
Faster Page Turns: 20% faster page turns
Read-to-Me: With the new Text-to-Speech feature, Kindle can read every book, blog, magazine, and newspaper out loud to you
Large Selection: Over 230,000 books plus U.S. and international newspapers, magazines, and blogs available
Low Book Prices: New York Times Best Sellers and New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise [via amazon.com]

 Gutenberg.com Officially Opens - Invites Ebook Lovers and Neophytes Worldwide to Become Part of Growing Ebook Community

www.Gutenberg.com brings together a wide variety of ebook people, including avid readers of ebooks on devices such as Amazon Kindle or Sony Digital Reader, and services like Stanza or Google Book Search. Gutenberg.com is also for those who are new to ebooks, as well as the ebook industry. Includes sections on finding ebooks, ebook reading devices and accessories, and new ebook technologies. Gutenberg.com also announces agreement with Gutenberg Museum for special section on Gutenberg.com that pays tribute to the history and culture of the book.

Palo Alto, CA — February 9, 2009 — Gutenberg.com launched today, as a new central information resource and social network for the ebook community. Gutenberg.com is for people who read ebooks or would like more information about them, as well as professionals involved in the ebook and publishing industry.

Patricia Schroeder, the President and CEO of the Association of American Publishers (AAP) says, “For folks who want to know more about ebooks, they should go to Gutenberg.com. It’s a great new central information resource for book lovers.”  [via gutenberg]

Amazon Kindle 2 Leather Cover $29.99

Patagonia Book Case $39.99

Cole Haan Grain Cover Case $99.99

Cole Haan Patent Cover Case $119.99

Cole Haan Smooth Cover Case $99.99

Cole Haan Woven Cover Case $119.99

Belkin Neoprene Sleeve Case $24.99

Amazon will soon be making its Kindle e-reader books available on mobile phones. In fact, the cyber-store giant said the gadget’s books will soon be available on a variety of handsets.

Amazon hasn’t announced which phones will be able to access the Kindle book collection, which currently features about 230,000 titles, but is launching a redesigned Kindle page later this month.

Of course, we all know that Google already announced plans to put books onto mobile phones; while Kindle titles are newly released books and best sellers, the popular search-engine company’s are mostly public domain works. [via g4tv]

The Kindle 2 costs you $359 USD and is going to be available for sale on February 24th, 2009 (edit: unconfirmed).

The timing is surely not coincidental. Next Monday, Amazon looks set to unveil the second version of the Kindle. So today, Google came up with a version of its Book Search that works on mobile handsets.

“Book Search” is a bit of a misnomer: it’s actually shaping up to be more of a “Book Read”. With the mobile service, Google says you can access the full text of 1.5m out-of-copyright books on your handset . And lest there be any doubt, it had this to say about its long-term ambition:

“Ultimately, we envision a future where people across the globe can search, discover and access the world’s books from any device.” [via blogs.ft.com]

The Pixelar e-reader contains a relatively sufficient 512MB of internal flash memory that can hold up to 1,000 books. It emplos a 6 inch 600 x 800 resolution e-Ink technology display (similar to Kindles). The reader also has an SD card that effectively expands the memory to up to 4 GB. The Pixelar e-Reader is also quite svelte, measuring just 184 x 120 x 9.9mm and only ways 22 grams including the battery.

The Pixelar rates that the battery life will get up to 8,000 page turns. Of course, battery life will be much faster if you use the built in MP3 function. What I love about Pixelar’s reader is the sheer amount of formats that it can read. To whit, it can read the following: PDF, MOBI, DOC, WOLF, MP3, HTML, TXT, CHM, FB2, Djvu, PNG, TIF, GIF, BMP, JPG, PPT, EPUB, LIT and PRC.

The screen technology means that you won’t have any problems reading in direct sunlight. There’s also a multi language menue and three levels of font adjustments. You can even add bookmarks to a page or book. Priced at £219 with a free 1GB SD Card, travel charger, USB leade, earphons and a leather pouch. [via gadgetspy]

CrunchGear predicts ”the new Kindle is thinner and has a nicer design and probably has a touchscreen,” and doubts the device will include a color screen because “Color e-ink is still in its infancy.”

The Los Angeles Times talks to analysts and concludes the new Kindle may have “a better battery life” and a “design that relocates the page-forward and page-back buttons so users would be less likely to hit them accidentally.”

The New York Times Bits Blog reports, “The new Kindle likely uses the new Broadsheet microchip from Epson and E-Ink” — technology that “breaks the screen into 16 pixel sets and can update them in parallel, allowing for faster screen refreshes and a generally more responsive screen.”

[via techflash]

Foxit Software are the folks behind Foxit Reader, a free PDF reader that is a great alternative to the standard Adobe Reader.  The folks at Foxit know text file conversion and formats and in a surprising twist are going to introduce an electronic ebook reader in January.

The eSlick will be short on bells and whistles but it will only set you back $229 in January and $259 shortly after that.  It’s a simple device with a built-in MP3 player, 128 MB of memory, SD slot (2 GB card included) and a 600 x 800 screen.  It appears to only read PDF files and Foxit is including software to facilitate creating your own PDF files to put on the eSlick.

Full specs:

Screen:6? E Ink® Vizplex screen 600 x 800 pixel resolution at 166 dpi, 4-level gray scale
Size: 7.4? x 4.7? x 0.4? (188×118×9.2mm)
Weight: 6.4 ounces (180g) battery included
Color: Black/Gray/White
Connectivity: USB2.0
Operating System: Embedded Linux
Supported Formats:
- eBook Formats: PDF, TXT, Any printable document(after converted to PDF using included software)
- Sound Formats: MP3
Internal Memory: 128MB
Storage Memory: SD Card (2GB included. Supports up to 4GB) [via salon.com]

Amazon has modestly cut the price its Kindle E-Book reader.  Barely released late last year, the white hand-held reader is now 10% off at $359 and buyers will also receive free two-day shipping.  Amazon hasn’t released an official statement about the price cut (at least not yet), but this should provide a decent boost in sales for anyone sitting on the fence. [via tgdaily]