The image at right is a closeup of a Sipix screen. You  should click on it and see the difference between this screen tech and E-ink. Hint: yes, that is a hexagonal grid.

Okay it’s not actually under a microscope, but I’d say it’s close enough.

One of my readers noticed my recent post about the Luarna Avant, a 6″ ereader originally made by Benq. Mario didn’t have this particular device, but at one point he did have his hands on a version that is being distributed in Russia.

He took this picture, and then he shot a few more pictures (from top to bottom: K2, Kindle DXG (Pearl screen), and PER3162).

Pocket-lint are reporting:

Qualcomm has confirmed to Pocket-lint that it will launch, in connection with a partner, a device, probably an ebook reader, that features its Mirasol colour screen technology in the first quarter of 2011. An announcement is expected at CES in Las Vegas in January.

…

The company wouldn’t tell Pocket-lint which partner would be making the announcement, but did confirm that, after months of waiting, shoppers would be able to get their hands on the revolutionary technology.

I wonder who Pocket-lint are talking to at Qualcomm? I can’t get anyone at Qualcomm to respond to my emails, much less pass along a hot tip like this.

I’m not talking about users; I’m talking about the company. I was just sent a link to this post through Twitter. Lynn Viehl, author of books such as Frostfire, had uploaded some of her older works to Scribd so everyone could read it for free. Much to her surprise, Scribd then started charging people to download it. Here’s the kicker: Scribd aren’t paying her anything.

It’s been brought to my attention that Scribd.com has begun charging people to download my free e-books hosted on their site. To get around my copyright and the free distribution notice I’ve placed in each e-book, they are using an archive subscription scam to make their money (this also neatly avoids them having to pay me any royalties on the profits they make.) Evidently all the money they’ve been raking in from the Google ads they’ve posted on my e-book pages hasn’t been enough for them.

…

I find the situation particularly ironic, as anyone can bootleg my work on the internet with no problem, yet when I try to give it away for free, greedy people still try to make a buck off it. Writers just can’t win.

If you’re going to argue that it’s technically not piracy, you’re right. But it’s still a shitty thing for Scribd to do to their members.

Update: Scribd have updated the account options page to include a check box so you can opt-out of  the archive. They need to find a better solution; opt-out check boxes are sleazy.

Update: The Sony Style product page has been updated.

APPS!

Do you recall that job listing I showed you a few weeks back that specified Android experience? Sony wanted someone to work on the apps, not a Sony Reader running Android. They’re going to release Sony Reader apps for Android and iOS in November, and new PC and Mac apps in December.

New markets

They’re expanding this year into Spain, Italy, and Australia. Later expansion will include China and Japan.

Firmware

There won’t be any firmware updates for the current models, and the new models will not be getting the new DRM that B&N are using.

Now let’s talk about the hardware. All 3 ereaders have been updated. They’re all getting the new Pearl screen and a bump in Flash storage. Also, the touchscreen component has been improved, I’m told. It’s supposed to be a lot better than the current screens. All 3 models will also have 12 dictionaries (2 English, 12 translation).

First, the hints about PRS-950 that I showed you a week ago are confirmed. Sony did update the Daily Edition with the new Pearl screen and Wifi. It’s also getting a boost in Flash (4GB), and it’s keeping the dual card slots.

They’ve boosted the battery life (27 days standby). Retail hasn’t changed, unfortunately. It’s still $299.

Next we have the Sony Touch Edition. It has the same general size and shape as its predecessor, and it kept the dual card slots. It also got the new Pearl screen and a bump to 2GB Flash. It won’t be getting the Wifi.

This one’s shipping immediately. and the retail is $229.

Last, we have the new Sony Pocket. We already knew from the leaked photos a couple weeks ago that it had a touch screen. But now I can tell you that it still lacks the card slots, but it does have the new screen and 2GB Flash. And since it now has a touchscreen, it will also the note taking and highlighting abilities of the Touch Edition.

It’s shipping immediately, and the retail is $179.

Peter Kafka has the scoop over at AllThingsDigital. He’s reporting that Greg Clayman, formerly of Viacom, is going to head NewsCorp’s new tablet news unit (or whatever they end up calling it).

I’ve pretty much assumed that this would happen, and I’m pretty sure it will also fail. But I never really explained why. It comes down to competition, cost, and news coverage.

This new tablet news service (TNS) is going to have to compete with all of Newscorp’s established blogs, websites, and daily newspapers, most of which are freely available online. And a lot of them already have apps, too, which will only  make things harder for the TNS.

My guess is that the TNS will be a general news source rather than have a specialty (finance, tech, gossip, etc). Why would I pay for the TNS when I can get the same general news coverage elsewhere for free? Heck, I can even get good coverage from other parts of Newscorp for free.

Unless they’re going to lock down all of Newscorp’s blogs (including AllThingsDigital), their subscription based TNS will be competing with other divisions that are giving the content away. When you look at it that way it doesn’t make much sense, does it?

iPhoneArena got their hands on Verizon’s device schedule for the second half of 2010. Guess what was listed for November:

Sometime during the second or third week of November, Big Red is said to push the Launch button for the enTourage eDGe (a dual-screen ereader + tablet Android device), as well as an enTourage Pocket device.

I don’t have any details from Entourage yet, but I can confirm that Entourage took out a trademark for the term Pocket Edge back in May. (At least we know that  it exists.) Also, so far as I can tell it hasn’t made it through the FCC yet.

I’m working on it.

Of course, the Kindle doesn’t work well with textbooks so that’s not saying much.

I’ve spent the last couple hours with NookStudy and while it has a number of usability issues, it is still the best desktop reading app on the market. It also fills a need. It’s the first decent desktop reading app that supports Adobe DRM (I loaded ebooks bought elsewhere). Yes, I’m familiar with Adobe DE; I think it’s crap.  You should use NookStudy instead.

NookStudy is better than either the Kindle4PC or Adobe DE becuase it provides so many more annotation and search options. It also has a better looking design than the fugly one used by Adobe DE.

With NookStudy you don’t just have the basic highlights, notes, and bookmarks. Instead, you have multiple types of annotations (highlight, asterisk, question) and you can do asterisks and questions in 7 different colors. You can also attach text notes as well as search Wikipedia, Google, Dictionary.com, Wolfram Alpha, and Youtube. And I just noticed that you can attach a link to the webpage you just found through the search. Attaching the link isn’t easy, but it can be done.

Now I’m really impressed. I love that I can search Dictionary.com, Wolfram Alpha, and Youtube. I think this might be the killer feature for NookStudy (like indexed search was for the Kindle).

Some of the other neat features include having multiple ebooks open in tabs, and a second TOC for annotations. They’re rather straightforward so I won’t go into detail.

Do you know what I think? I think B&N just made themselves the leading textbook platform. Aside from the niche textbook platforms, this is the best on the market.

Augen’s The Book (a Kindle clone) very quietly appeared at Kmart this week with a retail of $89. FYI: that price is a lot cheaper than the $129 we’d seen previously. The supply seems to be rather limited, so you might want to hurry. My local store only received 2, and both went fast. Also, the product page has been removed from Kmart’s website.

I don’t have one, and I don’t know when I will be able to get one. I had contacted Augen just over a month ago, and after exchanging a few emails they promised to lend me one to review. Well, that didn’t happen. By the time I found out that they weren’t going to send me one, my local Kmart store didn’t have any left.

P.S. If you get one, I’d like to hear from you. It looks interesting, and I really wanted to see it.

Second  Update: These instructions were written back in July 2011, and they stopped being valid by the first of August 2011 (the process got a lot easier and now gives you better results). You can find the new instructions here. Trust me, you’ll want to use the new instructions.

Update: When I originally wrote this, I obviously wasn’t clear in certain details. Several of the articles written about this hack have said that I did all the work. This is not true, nor was I trying to claim credit. Credit goes to a particular SlateDroid member by the name of "meth".

A couple weeks back I said I was going to try to root my Novel. Sorry about the delay. The process wasn’t functional until Thursday night, and it wasn’t until Saturday morning that it was actually worth bothering with.

First, if you want to hack your Novel then you really should visit SlateDroid and check out the Novel forum. That’s where you can find help with troubleshooting. I’m not refusing to help; I just want to do it in a forum setting (it’s easier).

I didn’t go all the way and actually root the Novel. Instead I stopped after I installed a replacement home screen (so I could run other apps). I had trouble finding a home screen that I could download. For the most part they are only in the Marketplace and I don’t have access. Eventually I found Panda Home, and it seems to be working okay.

Installing apps on the Novel requires the use of the command line (that’s what works for me) but the process is relatively easy. You can’t use the new apps from the existing home screen, so you’ll also need to install a new home screen. I have Aldiko, Kindle, Fictionwise eReader and Kobo apps installed. I’d forgotten how much I liked Aldiko.

As you can see in the video, the page turn speed is significantly faster with Aldiko or the Kindle app. General responsiveness has also improved. I’m a lot happier with the Novel now that crappy original software has been bypassed. It turns out that it does have decent hardware specs.

P.S. Here are the instructions on how to hack your Novel. They’ve been checked by a couple people and  I feel safe about sharing them. Use at Your Own Risk.

How-to-Hack-the-Novel (instructions)

Hack the Novel (ZIP file)

You might recall that Monday I posted that the Samsung E60 will be sold in France (it’s also currently sold in Italy). I was a little frustrated because I had no info about the US release, which had been repeatedly delayed.  I sent an email to Samsung and pestered them again. They got back to me on Tuesday, and here is what they said:

Based on current market dynamics, Samsung is revisiting its approach to the eReader market in the US at this time. We remain committed to the mobile entertainment market and expect to have new announcements soon.

Note that they don’t say that they are giving up entirely, just that they aren’t going to release an ereader anytime soon. Fortunately for Samsung, they still have their native South Korean market as well as Japan.

They’re really not having a good year when it comes to ereaders. First their 10″ E101 gets killed by the iPad*, and then their entire ereader market in the US got killed by the price war.

*It was announced at CES 2010 (pre iPad), and then not announced at the  (post iPad) March press conference (and they won’t comment on it).

Update: This review is based on the original firmware. Much of what I say about the software is no longer valid.

I hadn’t planned on writing this post. As you might know, Pandigital had the Novel pulled from shelves on Wednesday so they could load a new firmware. Kohl’s said it was a recall, so I returned my unit. I wasn’t pleased with it, and I decided to wait a few weeks and see what happened.

But then a fracas occurred over my use of the word recall. A couple people made snide remarks about my credibility and veracity, and I do not feel that I can let that slide. I feel that I have to respond and justify the remarks I made in my first impressions post.

Fortunately, I ordered a Novel online Saturday night (before I knew I could get one in store). It arrived Thursday.

BTW, if you’re reading this for the first time, you should probably go read my first post on the Novel.

Hardware

First things first. The Novel was not designed as an ereader; it is a tablet. I cannot see any indication in the hardware design that the developers considered how someone might hold it while reading. The design screams “budget tablet”. Consider how the headphone jack, power jack, and card slots are on 3 different edges. That strikes me as a design decision based on cost, not usability. In fact, I just went through my collection, and all of my ereader have the exposed ports and slots on either the top or bottom edge.

Do you want to know another detail that screams cheap tablet? There’s no USB host. That’s not a big deal for an ereader, but this is actually an Android tablet and could certainly support it.

I said before that the Novel was heavy. Yes, it is heavier than any other hand-held ereader, but what I should have said was that it is deceptively heavy. It is about the size of the Nook or Kindle, so you’d think it weighs the same. But the Novel weighs more.

I also said that it wasn’t a one handed ereader, and I still think that. I think you should hold the Novel in 2 hands because of the weight and the slippery back. Also, I could not reliably swipe and turn the page with my thumb when holding the Novel in my right hand.

I will admit that my concerns about the how you hold the Novel are really not that important. I have a couple tablets that I read on; most have to be held in both hands. Then again, they were not marketed as ereaders. The Novel was.

Main Menu, Library

I’m going to pass on defending my remarks on the main menu and the library. I didn’t criticize the main menu because the only people who’d care would be software developers. And my only valid complaint about the library was its lack of speed.

Apps

I’m also going to pass on the apps. You can get them on other Android tablets, and I’m treating the Novel as an ereader anyway.

Reading

I made a mistake before when I compared the Novel with the old eReader Android app. The Novel doesn’t use a newer version of the eReader app; it uses a Nook Android app. I say this because the Novel has the same reading abilities as the Nook. I’m still disappointed, though, because the old eReader app is better than the Nook app.

BTW, since the Novel is an android tablet, I think it’s fair to compare its Nook app to other Android reading apps. Take Aldiko for instance. I’ve used Aldiko on the Archos 5 IT, and it is significantly more capable than the Nook app. Aldiko has the formatting support similar to what I like in the eReader.

Screen refresh & Response rate

I stand by my complaint about the response rate. This is the slowest tablet I’ve ever seen. Luckily, this is probably a software issue. I checked the FCC filings, and the unit they tested had a Samsung s3c6410xh-53 CPU, which runs at 533MHz (I think). That’s plenty fast enough for the job – once they fix the software.

But the Novel is still slow. Do you want to know how slow? I still have the Gajah BK6001, and I compared the page turn speed of the 2 devices. The BK6001 was faster than the Novel, even though it has an E-ink screen. Now that, my dear, is slow.

Conclusion

It doesn’t matter whether you think of the Novel as a tablet or an ereader It comes in a distant second to any other device I’ve used. There are better ereaders out there and there are better tablets out there.

Update: This post is based on the original firmware. Much of what I say about the software is no longer valid.

This post is a collection of first impressions. I usually post this on the day I get a device, and then post a full review a coupe weeks later. If I were you, I wouldn’t decide for or against the Novel based on this post. At best, you might use this post to help you decide to wait.

I bought it at Kohl’s. Someone posted a comment yesterday and said that most stores now have it in stock. At my local store, it was behind the jewelry counter.

So what do I think? I’m  not happy with it, and here’s why:

• touchscreen is funky
• Wifi is broken buggy
  
• the Novel is slow to respond to input
• you can’t charge over USB
• few options in reader
• few organization options in library

Before you read further, I want to make it clear that I don’t slam an ereader without good reason. Everything in this post is written based on having the Novel in front of me. I didn’t say very many nice things about the Novel because I couldn’t find any. I actually went into this with high hopes, and I’m disappointed. The Novel is a rather unexceptional device.

Hardware

First, the Novel is  rather heavy. This isn’t going to be a one handed reader. It’s also not easy to hold; I wish they had included a case with a strap. The back is slippery and the device is just a little too wide for me to grip the edges. For full details on the hardware, check out the product page at Pandigital.net.

The touch screen is behaving funny. I’ve found that I have to press and hold for it to notice my request. Then I calibrated the screen, and its behavior got stranger. Whenever I tried to use the keyboard it kept returning the wrong key. The calibration really screwed something up. I think the Novel has a serious problem here. Update: Installing the new firmware and then forcing a reboot fixed the problem.

BTW, this screen sensitivity problem isn’t due to Android. I have other Android devices and they all behave about the same. This is a hardware or software problem on the Novel.

Main Menu

It’s divided into 3 parts.  The top is a bunch of shortcuts to various parts of the B&N ebookstore, the middle shows 10 ebooks from the Novel, and the bottom has app icons (like you might find on a Home screen). From what I can tell you cannot install third party apps.

Wifi is broken

The Novel can’t see my Wifi network. I tried all the normal troubleshooting and nothing worked.Two other devices are on that network, so there must be something wrong with the Novel.

Update: The Novel could see other networks, so there must be some technical detail about my home network the Novel doesn’t like.

Library

The library menu is done in the same style as iBooks (and the ones iBooks copied). You can see 20 thumbnails of ebook covers at a time. You can sort by date, title, or author, but you don’t have any option to display your ebooks differently (a list, for example). I have a huge collection, so this is going to be a serious problem. They do give you the option of building collections called bookshelves, but this is still piss-poor sorting options.

Response time is slow. I swipe to turn the page and see more titles and it takes a couple seconds to respond. That is unacceptable.

Do you know what bothers me the most? The fact that so many ereader companies didn’t do basic research about their customer base. The person who is most likely to get an ereader is one who reads a lot. Some one who reads a lot might want to take a lot of books with them at once. You can’t do that on a lot of ereaders because the library management is crap.

Reading

Speaking as someone who likes the old eReader Android app, the one on the Pandigital is deeply disappointing. You don’t have any options for margin, line spacing, font, justification. Actually, I can’t see that the Novel has any customization options at all (aside from font sizes and a night read option).

It has bookmarks highlighting, and you can add notes. I can’t click on internal links, and the Novel doesn’t appear to support the Epub table of contents. But at least it respects the margins set in the Epub file.

Page turns are slow (for an LCD). I’m also beginning to regret that the Novel doesn’t have page turn buttons. The only page turn option is swipe, and you don’t have the option of changing it to screen taps. Why did they do that, I wonder?

Apps

I can’t find a way to see the apps on my SD card, and with out Wifi I can’t try to download them. The Novel does come with a browser and other apps, but without the ability to add more I really can’t recommend this tablet.

Conclusion

The novel fits in my old Kindle cover (sorta), so I’ll be carrying it with me this week. I plan to have the full review up by Friday.

So my unit arrived today, and I’m going to post my first impressions. My battery died fairly quickly even though it said it was fully charged, so this psot won’t be that complete. I used it for about 10 minutes before I realized:

The Alex is not an E-reader.

No, seriously, it’s not. The Alex is a dual screen web tablet. It does so much more than read ebooks.

hardware

The Alex has a 6″ epaper screen and a 3.5″ LCD screen. There are 2 buttons on either side of the LCD screen. I’ve heard a couple complaints about the fact both page turn buttons are not on the same side. Now that I’ve used it, I understand why they did that. I think you’re supposed to hold the Alex in both hands, or they don’t expect you to need it that much.

I can comfortably hold the Alex in either hand with my thumb between the screens, 4 fingers behind, and the Alex’s corner in the palm of my hand. I’d feel safe carrying it one handed on a commute.

Reading

I didn’t get to use it very long(battery), but I’m really impressed with the annotation abilities.  I didn’t have time to see everything but there were a lot of options and I successfully attached a voice note. Yes, the Alex has a microphone.

Browsing

Once again, I’m impressed. I could display a webpage on both screens at once. Note: the same page was shown twice, not shown split between the 2 screens. Again, not enough time to really get into it.

It also comes with a Youtube app.

key shortcuts

I haven’t read the manual, but I think there are some shortcuts that can jump you out of the browser. I was pressing stuff in random pairs and at least one worked. Shiny.

What’s in the Box

The Alex was shipped in a UPS envelope (in its retail box, of course), not a shipping box. I’m not pleased. Besides the device, the box also contained a charger, USB cable, a paper manual, and a case, which is crap. It looks like it cost about $1.50 to make, and it’s so flimsy that it can only protect against scuff marks. I don’t think it would be enough to protect the Alex if I dropped it.

Nook vs Alex

UPDATE from 25 April: I just downloaded the Nook firmware update, and I’ve changed my mind. The Nook has improved significantly.

If you own a Nook, I’d sell it and get an Alex. Do it today so you beat the rush. The Alex is that much better. I’m actually not joking. The Alex feels like Spring Design put a lot of thought into it.