(image courtesy of apple.com)

Yesterday Businessweek reported that Sony plans to open an iTunes-style store, showcasing their eBook, music and movie libraries. While certainly newsworthy all by itself, this news marks something bigger that is changing in technology today; hardware doesn’t matter anymore. Continue Reading

(image courtesy of Techcrunch)

Hello and welcome to another “State of the ebook!” We have an avalanche of news this week, from smartphone news to international expansion and beyond!

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Welcome to another State of the eBook! This week we’re bringing in an expert to share some thoughts on eBooks, music and movies, and where the future is taking digital media. Read on for Gear Diary’s interview with K.C. Blake of the Entertainment Technology Center at University of Southern California.

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Amazon is not taking their new competition sitting down. I saw this ad watching television tonight, and almost did a double-take; I’ve seen print ads for the Kindle, but prime-time commercials are a whole new level of publicity.

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(courtesy of Amazon.com)

Just a few short weeks ago Amazon announced the Kindle was coming to PCs, and today it landed! Windows-only for now, with Mac OS X support promised “shortly”, Kindle for PC represents Amazon’s first attempt to strike back against Barnes and Noble’s eBook expansion. Does it succeed? I’ve been playing with it all day, read on for my review and thoughts!

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More details are leaking out about Spring Design’s lawsuit against Barnes and Noble. Engadget has information from Spring Design on the details of their “relationship” with B&N. Bottom line: it looks on the surface like B&N saw Spring Design’s ideas, chose not to use them, then implemented the best parts for their own eReader.

Bear in mind this is all conjecture based on the limited information floating around the internet. Please keep your pitchforks and flaming torches at bay until someone is proven guilty!

Via Engadget

Remember the Alex ebook reader? And remember how everyone thought it looked awfully similar to the nook? Apparently Spring Designs, the creators of the Alex, agree, and they’ve filed a lawsuit against Barnes and Noble over it.

Highlights of the press release:

-Barnes and Noble and Spring Designs were working together on an ebook reader.

-Spring Design shared information about the Alex with B&N (who were under NDA)

-The lawsuit is alleging B&N stole Spring Design’s intellectual property by studying the Alex’s features and using them for the design of the nook.

Now this does contradict a report from Businessweek that the nook (code named “Athena”) was being designed by Ammunition Partners, the company that designed the first Kindle.

My one cynical, totally unconfirmed theory: Barnes and Noble purposely pushed pre-order shipping back to mid-December to allow time for this to play out and avoid a potential sales injunction.

No other information is available beyond the press release, and there is no word on whether Spring Design will be attempting to prevent nook sales or pre-sales. As more information appears we will definitely be sharing it, so keep an eye on Gear Diary for more news and commentary!

Via egether

It took stealth, cunning, and nerves of steel (along with a cell phone camera and a friendly clerk), but here is my report from tonight’s visit to Barnes and Noble to scope out their nook displays.

Even before you enter the store, you are greeted with HUGE mock nook in the window. I kind of want one that size! Continue Reading