ebooks

Audible app coming to Windows Phone 7

November 5, 2010 | By Surur

audibleUK At present, unlike on the ZuneHD, Audible files are not supported on Windows phone 7.

Paul Thurrott asked the company when support would be coming, and received this relatively encouraging answer.

I understand that you are interesting in using the Windows Phone 7 with your Audible Content. I do apologize for the inconvenience but the Windows Phone 7 is currently not supported by Audible so the Audible files will not play on this device. There is no work around to transfer Audible files onto this device and no announced plans about when the device will be supported.

To make a device compatible with the .aa format means supporting our encryption, this protects the publisher’s copyrights as well as implementing key usability features, such as section navigation and resume playback. Although previous devices were supported by Audible, their has been alterations to the Windows 7 that does not allow the old Audible Air application to be updated easily and translated for the new OS.

Since this is the case, we are currently designing a new App for this phone and hope it will be available sooner than later.

While native support would have been ideal (especially in terms of enabling background playback) an application can actually be better in some ways, with the ability for example to purchase directly from the device, unlike on the iPhone for example.

Audible support would be another key service which would reduce to cost of switching to a Windows phone 7 device and make it an increasingly viable solution for other smartphone users.

Via WindowsPhoneSecrets.

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Samsung promising eBook hub for Omnia 7 in Q1 2011

October 23, 2010 | By Surur

ereaderhub

34763001_m_f Eagle-eyed reader Duncan has spotted that on the official UK Samsung Omnia 7 features page that Samsung will be offering an Ebook hub for their new Windows Phone 7 device.

The update however promises more that simply books, noting it will be the place to go for newspapers and periodicals also, and will be available to download in Q1 2011.

Samsung already offers a stand-alone e-reader in UK being sold via large UK book retailer WMSmith which supports text to speech and annotation, and we will hopefully see these features and the store that supports it carry over to this software solution.

With Marketplace still small having a supported reader platform for your device may be another reason to chose the Samsung Omnia 7 over the many other contenders.

Thanks Duncan for the tip.

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Freda eBook reader making the jump to Windows phone 7

October 3, 2010 | By Surur

Its always nice to see software rely upon in Windows Mobile being ported to Windows phone 7. Such is the case with Jim Chapman’s free e-reader, Freda, which appears to be making the transition to Windows phone 7 pretty smoothly.

In the version demoed above the software is tied Wattpad, an e-book site, but a version without any affiliation will be released also.

To download the current version of Freda for Windows Mobile, see Jim’s site here.

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Windows Mobile Barnes and Noble eReader gets major update

September 4, 2010 | By Surur

Pocketnow reports that the Barnes and Noble eReader bundled with the HTC HD2 has received a major update which brings it up to best in class functionality.

The software has received some UI improvements, such as a grid view for books, and some major functionality improvements, such as being able to read books lent to you by other eReader users, such as users of the Nook, and also lend books to others, the ability to easily bookmark pages, easily look-up words in the dictionary, a search feature, night mode, and a few more features.

Hopefully we will see a similarly full-featured client for Windows Phone 7 in the near future.

Read about all the new features, with many screen shots, at Pocketnow here.

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Qualcomm’s Mirosol super-low power screen shown off

April 13, 2010 | By Surur

inventec-v112-ctia-00-sm We have all seen e-Ink screens, but Qualcomm’s Mirasol technology is another competitor in the super-low power display technology arena, and unlike e-ink the display, which works via reflected light, has a fast enough refresh rate to support video.

Qualcomm has now announced they are ready to enter volume production this year in a version suitable for tablet PCs and e-readers. The 5.7-inch Mirasol displays will offer XGA (1024 x 768 pixel) resolution, video at up to 30 frames per second, and extremely low power consumption, according to Qualcomm.

The technology was first shown of as a secondary screen on a Windows Mobile smartphone by Inventec.

Read more about the technology at WindowsforDevices here, video from Tweaktown.com

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New version of Freda ebook reader released

February 16, 2010 | By Surur

John Chapman has released an upgrade for his free Freda ePub capable ebook reader app for Windows Mobile which addresses many user requests and makes the already great software even more usable.

The updated version includes the ability to keep the backlight on and prevent the lock screen from coming on, both features high on my request list, and the ability to configure how the swiping and scrolling works.

Also great features are being able to jump straight into your last loaded book without having to choose it from the list first.

Download the software here, and can I suggest a $10 donation to show our appreciation?

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HTC HD2 ebook tab demoed

February 10, 2010 | By Surur

Pocketnow has published this video showing the new HTC HD2 ereader tab.

While many have said reading books on a smartphone is very sub-optimal, for many PDA veterans ebook reading was a great feature, and the move to larger screens and higher resolutions greatly appreciated. I do not know about our other readers, but I certainly will be using this feature a lot.

Are any of our other readers excited about this development? Let us know below.

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Cube to produce $150 6 inch capacitive screened Windows Mobile 6.5 e-reader

February 9, 2010 | By Surur

It seems everyone is jumping on the ereader market, and the latest rumour from Asia is that Cube, who produces a variety of PMP’s, is set to release a Windows Mobile 6.5 powered e-reader with a 6 inch colour capacitive screen.

No other details except for the targeted price is known yet, but at $150 that’s quite enticing enough.

No pictures exist yet, except for the teaser above, which I assume says its better that the iPhone .

Via Akhibaranews.com

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HTC HD2 to get eBooks?

February 7, 2010 | By l3v5y

Some interesting things are occurring in the HD2 ROMs!

In some of the latest ROMs (2.05 and 2.07 have it) HTC have added an eBook reader built in to manila in much the same way as the documents tab.

There’s also apparently a torch application (though I’ve not found any screenshots yet).

Maybe HTC are feeling threatened by the iPad (I highly doubt that) or they’ve just seen a new revenue stream, and a way to make the HD2 even better than it is already! Either way, this is looking good!

If anyone out there happens to have either the 2.05 or the 2.07 ROMs, shoot us a message, and I’ll add this stuff into the WMPU HD2 ROM!

Via 3gin.net.

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Freda – new ePub reader for Windows Mobile

November 7, 2009 | By Surur

Freda is a new ebook reader for Windows Mobile. Designed for DRM free text, it can display TXTX, HTML and DRM free ePub files, and has a relatively nice UI.

Read more about the software here, and join the conversation about it at MobileRead here.

The software can be downloaded directly from here using this Microsoft tag (gettag.mobi).

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Plastic Logic’s Que runs Windows CE

October 19, 2009 | By Surur

Plastic Logic showed of its eReader today. The device has a letter-sized (8.5" x 11") E-ink screen with a capacitive layer that is claimed to be “shatterproof” and which Gizmodo called “the best ebook touchscreen out there”.

The reader, which features WIFI and AT&T 3G and runs Windows CE under the hood, is aimed at professionals, and as can be seen in the video above, supports easy annotation and cross referencing and allows viewing of documents in PDF, Word, PowerPoint, and Excel formats.

The device will still however support more entertaining content, with Barnes & Noble as a content partner, allowing over the air newspapers, books and periodicals download.

The device supports PDF, DOC, DOCX, XLS, XLSX, PPT, PPTX, text, RTF, HTML, JPEG, PNG, BMP, ePub, and eReader formats.

Plastic Logic previously announced an agreement with the Detroit Media Partnership via which the e-reader will be offered as a replacement for home newspaper delivery.

Plastic Logic said full product specifications, availability, and pricing for the Que will be announced on Jan. 7, 2010, at CES.

Via Gizmodo and WindowsforDevices.

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More over Kindle – Press Display e-Newspapers for Windows Mobile

May 13, 2009 | By Surur

NewspaperDirect – the world’s largest online newspaper kiosk, has released PressDisplay for Windows Mobile.

The software allows for the subscription, download and reading of full newspapers, including the text, images, and even adverts in full resolution, locally and from around the world.

While the software has a limited free version, full access seem to require a fee of between $9.95 and $29.95 per month.

Read more about this interesting software, and download the free trial here.

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