If you liked the looks of the Case-Mate Enlighten Kindle2 Cover that I reviewed the other day, and if you can’t wait to get one of your own, then you are in luck!

Read on to see how you can get yours before they are even available for sale …

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One of the things that I love about the Kindle – its eInk screen – is also one of the things that makes using the Kindle a bit difficult when lighting is poor. It seems silly in a way to complain about not being able to read a book in the dark, because it certainly isn’t something anyone could do with the dead tree version, but there are a couple of reasons I think it chafes more than expected when people read from non-backlit devices.

I think many who use eReaders have also experienced reading on other mobile devices, which generally use color-capable LCD screens and are easy to read from in even the worst light. It seems only natural then, that when we pick up an electronic device meant to read books from – that it should also be in color, or at the very least backlit. But of course, they aren’t.

I’ve just received a brand new Case-Mate Kindle2 cover which not only wraps the eReader in a fine leather hardback cover, it also has an amazing integrated lighting system. The Case-Mate Enlighten won’t be available until mid-December, but I wanted to go ahead and give my impressions on this most remarkable wrap.

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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

photo credit: Joseph Robertson

If last week’s news is any indication, we’re all about to see an army of Droids to be released and hit the mobile scene — in a very big way. Even if you didn’t already pre-order through Best Buy, Big Red hopes you’ll be stopping by their stores this Friday to see what all the fuss is about.   Some good hardware from Motorola and a faster, much improved Android 2.0 should please quite a few Verizon customers by providing what could be argued as the carrier’s first eagerly anticipated smartphone.   But will it pose any real threat to the iPhone?

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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

Welcome to another round of State of the eBook! There’s been an avalanche of eBook news and releases, so let’s dive right in!

Barnes and Noble releases the nook upon the world

B&N’s nook came out swinging, with a dual screen design and an android foundation. Check out Gear Diary’s coverage of the nook’s release here, and commentary on a B&N conference call that answered some questions and raised new ones here. In related B&N news, Plastic Logic has announced that their Que reader will be not only using the Barnes and Noble eBook store but will also be sold in Barnes and Noble locations.

Amazon isn’t taking this lying down

Not content with blowing away their earnings numbers AND announcing Kindle-related sales are their best selling products, Amazon also quickly dropped the price of their international Kindle to $259 to compete with the nook. And since AT&T’s network isn’t crowded enough, they also quietly dropped their Sprint Kindles, bringing all Kindle 2’s on the AT&T network going forwards. Finally, Kindle for Windows is coming shortly, with a mac version in a few months!

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Plastic Logic is set to unveil it’s Que eBook reader at the Consumer Electronics Show this January. What makes Que so special?

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(video courtesy of Slashgear)

As anticipated, Barnes and Noble has announced their eBook reader, the “Nook”. Not only does it have an e-ink screen AND a color LCD, it also has some features that will wear down the anti-eBook crowd and leave Amazon and Sony rushing to play catch-up.

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This looks a lot like the rumored Barnes and Noble e-reader just announced Barnes & Noble Nook eBook reader.  It is from Spring Design and called Alex.  It boasts a Electronic Paper Display and one touch screen and runs the Android operating system.  The text is livened up by using multimedia links that I assume would appear on the touch screen.

Spring Design pioneered its patented dual-screen device with ‘touch and extend’ capability in 2007, and has been working with major book stores, newspapers and publishers over the past two years to share its vision and the capabilities of the dual screen device. Alex brings together the efficiency of an EPD display with the responsiveness and richness of navigational convenience of the LCD screen. Its removable SD card gives users extensive storage, allowing them to expand their text with multimedia “add on” editions.

Working with major book stores?  Who is more major then Barnes and Noble? left after both Amazon and Barnes and Noble who each now have their own branded eBook reader?

I  hope this device from Spring Design is the B&N e-reader as it really looks great.  With the included wifi and 3G it really sounds like a incredible device.  Plus with it running Android, then it opens it up for running other applications other than just it’s e-reader app.

photo credit: Ozyman

Technology can be a lot of fun. It can keep us connected with one another, it can transform our work habits, and it can help us become more organized and efficient.

It can do all these things, but of all the great uses of technology the one that stands as most important is this: that it can help us solve the problems life throws at us.

Dan is a good example of some of the ways technology can help overcome otherwise challenging issues. Back in January he wrote a post entitled A Crash Course in One-Handed Blogging. Dan had just undergone surgery to fuse one of his wrists after it had been destroyed by rheumatoid arthritis. With one arm tightly wrapped and constantly elevated, voice recognition software allowed him to keep blogging and writing for his rabbinic works (and for Gear Diary), even as he recovered from a surgery that was far more extensive than he expected.

Dan continues to do a great deal of his writing using various voice recognition solutions, and he will be introducing a new series about the subject here on Gear Diary later this week. But this story isn’t about VR, it is about another technology that has helped Dan deal with some of the after-effects of RA and his surgery; it’s about a technology that I have long advocated.

With his permission, here is the story…

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Welcome to another “State of the eBook”. We’ve got some quick news to review, and then a discussion of something that keeps publishers up at night; piracy in ebook-land. Is it an epidemic of music proportions or is it the straw-man argument that publishers use to justify high prices, digital rights management, and slow ebook adoption?

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Flat World Knowledge is combating the insane price of college textbooks by making open source textbooks an easier solution for colleges. The catalog for now is limited to a few titles per school but eventually they’d like to have more colleges adopt open source online distribution of textbooks. The company sells affordable alternative formats such as print-on-demand full color and black and white print versions, PDF versions, podcast and .mp3 versions, as well as Flat World Knowledge and user-generated study aides such as mobile flash cards and web quizzes to support the books. Naturally social media is in the cards and the company has plans to build student social learning networks around these free books. Instead of purchasing an entire book students can print books to a PDF for only $1.99 per chapter. The company claims it can save 82% on average over purchased college textbooks. Take a quick look at the link below to see if your school has any books available.

Flatworld Knowledge

One thing I didn’t realize would happen when I upgraded my Dell Axim x51v to Windows Mobile 6.1 recently, was that I would lose the ability to read my DRM-infested ebooks in Reader format because Microsoft Reader didn’t support the latest version of Windows Mobile. As far as I could tell Microsoft Reader was a dead product. I searched around on forums and blogs, and the only solution I could find was using utilities to transfer my Reader books to a format readable in Mobipocket Reader. I did that for one book I bought a while ago and had wanted to finish on a business trip this past weekend, but in general it wasn’t something I felt good about.

So imagine my surprise this morning when a post at Pocket PC Thoughts alerted me to an upgrade to MS Reader at Microsoft! I describe it as ’stealth’ because if you go to the official MS Reader page the listing is for the previous version, 2.4.1. If you want the new version (2.4.2) you need to head to the Direct Download Page. There are no new features other than WiMo 6.1 compatibility listed, which I can confirm since I’m now once again ‘Activated’ and reading my DRM-filled purchased ebooks!

Source: Pocket PC Thoughts

Barnes & Noble today announced a new every device strategy where their just announced eBook store (and resulting eBooks) will be available on a wide variety of devices including smartphones like the iPhone and BlackBerry as well as the iPod Touch. Although I’m sure they’ll be capable of (eventually) reading eBooks from Barnes & Noble – isn’t it sad to see smartphone platforms like Windows Mobile, Palm Pre, Symbian and Android miss the cut for inclusion in these exciting press announcements?

Barnes & Noble promises over 700,000 titles will be available. A large number of them were acquired as part of their Fictionwise purchase earlier this year. The remainder have all been written by Santa’s Elves who are busy up in the North Pole off season transcribing eBook content. First-time users of the eReader will have the opportunity to download free eBooks, including titles such as Merriam-Webster’s Pocket Dictionary, Sense and Sensibility, Little Women, Last of the Mohicans, Pride and Prejudice, and Dracula. See site for further details.

Barnes & Noble eBooks