Regardless, simultaneous release dates with new hardbacks, availability (eventually) of the entire Penguin back catalog and the planned September launch date of the initiative are all promising for the snow-balling ebook movement. Now, where's my Apple ebook reader, dammit? [Telegraph]

Our favorite feature is that which we thought the most ludicrous upon first glance—that bulky case. But there's a method to the madness. The case is constructed of flexible silicon, an attempt to re-create the soft feel of a book and offer some tactile enjoyment to the sterile feel of e-books.

Also of note, the concept calls for multitouch page flicking. Of course, it's a cheap idea to throw into the design since, trust us, if e-paper/e-ink technology had anywhere near the response time to make touch controls feasible, Amazon and Sony would be on the trend in a heartbeat. [LIVRE via engadget]

Dimensions: 255.8mm (L) x 173.5mm (W) x 14.3mm (H)
Display: ePaper (E-ink technology) 10 inches, 825 x 1200 pixel
Storage: 64MB Nand Flash ,SD/MMC card (Support for 2GB)
Weight: 320g (includes battery)
Battery: Li-ION 950mAH
I/O: USB1.1
Format Support: PDF, DOC, WOLF, HTML,JPG, TXT, CHM, RAR, ZIP, Images ETC.
Operating System: WOLF LINUX OS
Hardware CPU: Samsung ARM9 200Mhz CPU

By comparison, the Amazon Kindle has a 6-inch diagonal E-Ink® electronic paper display with 600 x 800 pixel resolution and 4-level grayscale, while the Sony Reader has the same size but with 8 levels of gray and 754 x 584 pixels. [MobileRead]

As a rightfully irritated commenter on BookofJoe noted, Amazon should have notified him of this when it bought it. That may be true, but you wouldn't expect your phone company to do that right? Besides, Amazon did mention all of this in the product page, but it could have been easily lost in the long list of information. Hit the link to check your coverage [Amazon and BookofJoe]

One main point is that if Amazon was sued for something we wrote, even by some nut job figuring Amazon would settle quickly, we'd have to take the blame. (I make no guarantees to SFW content, per our usual programming.) The bigger issue is that you can still read Gizmodo using Kindle's browser for $0. And you guys are too smart to pay $2 for something you can get for free a few clicks away on the same device. I don't think the RSS store is useless, but I think the business model needs a bit of tweaking. And of course, if it ever makes sense for Gizmodo to be on the RSS feeder and we make it happen, I'll let you know right away.

UPDATE: Ryan Block of Engadget has voiced similar sentiments on his personal blog.

10:23 - Bookmarks last page read automatically. If you want to clear memory space, you delete them off of your Kindle and in 60 seconds you can get them back again. (So, 60-second downloads.) "Disappears so you can enter the author's world." The End.

10:18 - Look at the store: your recommendations, national bestseller list. Buy something: scroll with your select wheel, select title, pull up detail page. What you would expect with Amazon.com - cover art, editorial reviews. Print list price $35, Kindle price is $9.99. Click on Buy. Says "thank you for your purchase...you can continue shopping while you are downloading." GREAT FEATURE: "Purchsed by accident? Cancel this order"

10:15 - Feature run through: font size change; "select" wheel; add highlight, annotation — all saved on server side so you never lose your annotations; dictionary - looks up every word in the line, then you can select each word.

10:05-10:13 - VIDEO: The publishing world rallies around Kindle. Toni Morrison, Neil Gaiman and other luminaries say that they love Amazon and the Kindle. Mostly promotional, but we have captured it in case there's anything exciting buried in there.

10:03 - There's a dictionary resident on every Kindle, the 8-lb. Oxford American Dictionary on the 10-oz. Kindle. "With Kindle it's so friction-free to look up a word, I find my deduction of what that word might mean hasn't been that accurate." Wikipedia is the "best encyclopedia in the world;" you can access Wikipedia from the device.

10:00 - Personal documents - Every Kindle has an e-mail address. Attach docs and e-mail them to your device. It's that simple.

9:57 - 90,000 books - 101 of 112 NYT bestsellers - 9.99 - if you want to do things taht physical books can't do, why not deliver newspapers. They are delivered while you sleep. WSJ, NYT, Washington Post, and local newspapers too. Local newspapers on Kindle become national newspapers. Time, Fortune, Atlantic Monthly, Slate. And over 300 of the most popular blogs. This is not RSS - it's pushed to you. Subscribe to the ones you want.

9:55 - "EV-DO, fastest wireless technology, it's broadband. Highly deployed. Use it while you move around. Everybody knows when you use wireless cell networks, there's gotta be a data plan, multiyear contract, monthly bill — we didn't like that either. We built Amazon Whispernet on top of Sprint's EV-DO network. No data plan, no multiyear contract, no monthly bill — we pay for all of that behind the scenes so you can just read."

9:52 - "With a PC - you are loading software, shopping from your PC - once you bought and downloaded a book, you use USB cable to sync to device. We didn't think that was a very good solution. There would be no PC, no software to install. Instead of shopping from your PC, you shop from your device. Store is on your device."

9:50 Soft rubber back, full-length page turning, comfortable to hold, paper-like display, electronic ink. Recharging is bad, so long battery life. No backlight. (like Sony, Bezos says this is a good thing.)

9:47 - "I have nerd credentials." (And a big crush on his elementary school teacher Mrs. McInerny.) But can you improve on something as well suited to its task as the book?
1. It has to fade away for the reader, like a book does, "so you can enter the author's world."
2. We can never outbook the book. We have to take modern technologies and do new things that the book can't do.

9:45 - Bezos says why books are the last remaining analog product: The format (glue and paper) fades away, "and what remains are the author's worlds, the author's words. I'm a reader."

9:40 - Bezos on the codex: "Gutenberg would still recognize a modern-day book."

Though we've already posted the rumors and the news, there's still a lot to know about this mystery disruptor. The dudes behind me think it might have the most impact on publishing since the internet, so stay tuned. [Amazon Kindle Store]

* Terminal measures 180x120mm (B6 size) * Thickness: 3mm * Weight: 57g * Contrast ratio: 8:1 * Reflectivity: 43% * Redrawing time: 0.7s * Battery: one CR1220 button cell battery (1'400 screen redraws)

That could be interesting if weekly and daily news sources could be downloaded over the Kindle's EVDO data connection, which was discovered in FCC docs so many months ago. If you know more, please drop me a line—this thing could destroy the Sony reader if it has connectivity and I am hungry for details. More on Kindle as it develops and the entire back story [here]

And though Sony claims the screen has a higher contrast and faster refresh rate, no exact specs were given. Other new features include a doubling of the internal memory to hold 160 eBooks instead of 80, and a new USB mass storage mode. Old features: battery life still lasts for 7,500 page turns and the Reader also displays PDF, RTF, TXT and JPEG formats like before. SD and Memory Stick slots are also provided for memory expansion.

Of course, the PRS-505 works with the Sony Connect store, where there are over 20,000 eBooks available for download. The Sony Reader will hit stores later this month for $300 (cheaper than the initial release of the PRS-500 by $50).

SONY UNVEILS SECOND EDITION OF READER DIGITAL BOOK

SAN DIEGO, Oct. 2, 2007 ⎯ In its version of a literary sequel, Sony Electronics is taking the cover off a new edition of its ground-breaking Reader Digital Book this month.
The new Reader (model PRS-505) features a svelte body design and is available in two colors - silver and dark blue. Re-styled controls more closely mimic paper page turns and allow for quick, intuitive navigation.
A next-generation electronic paper display delivers faster response and a higher contrast ratio for easy reading even in bright sunshine. Eight levels of gray scale provide for crisp and clear text, images, and graphics.
"For people on the go, this device is compelling because it allows them to carry a wide variety of reading materials whether they are on a cross-country flight, in a doctor's office waiting room, or at a beach resort," said Steve Haber, senior vice president of Sony's Digital Imaging and Audio Division. "The Reader can handle a stack of books and other documents that people would rather not carry, yet offers a 'book-like' reading experience unavailable with other electronic devices."
With the capacity to store up to 160 typical eBooks, the Reader can act as a mobile library. Expansion slots for Memory Stick Duo™ media or SD memory cards make the device's library potential practically limitless.
More advanced users will appreciate the new USB-based mass storage capability that allows them to use the device as a portable drive for the direct transfer of documents, images and other files to the Reader. A new auto sync feature also lets users set up folders with books and documents that can be automatically synchronized when the device is connected to a PC.
A Growing Online Store
Since Sony's launch of the CONNECT™ eBooks Store last year, the number of downloadable eBooks offered has expanded to more than 20,000 titles with new ones added weekly.
Grove/Atlantic, Harcourt Trade, Kensington, Pearson Education, The Perseus Books Group, Regnery Publishing, Taylor & Francis and W.W. Norton have joined the ranks of publishers such as Hachette Book Group USA, Harlequin, HarperCollins Publishers, Holtzbrinck Publishers, Hyperion, McGraw Hill, Penguin Group, Random House and Simon & Schuster in their commitment to electronic publishing.
Recent newcomers to the store include Reader's Digest, the first magazine to produce content for the Reader and Dorling Kindersley with titles coming soon. The site also boasts a number of Rough Guide travel titles.
The New International Version Bible by Zondervan® (a unit of HarperCollins Publishers) quickly rose to the top of the eBook store's bestseller list after it was added to the collection last month. And blockbuster authors such as Dean Koontz and Mitch Albom recently debuted electronic versions of their work to an enthusiastic response.
For a limited time, when a Reader is registered on Sony's CONNECT eBooks Store, customers will receive a credit good for the purchase of 100 available CONNECT Classics titles, including the works of William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, H.G. Wells and more.
"Since launching almost a year ago, we've confirmed that Reader owners are avid book readers and great customers of our growing selection of book titles," said Lee Shirani, vice president for eBooks at Sony CONNECT. "Publishers are responding by making more electronic titles available, and, increasingly by making them available at the same time as print versions are released.
"As a result, at any given time, we carry a majority of what's on the New York Times Bestsellers list and our weekly top downloads closely track with the most popular print titles."
The CONNECT store offers a broad selection of fiction and non-fiction, bestsellers, well-known authors, classics and more, with rich descriptive content in the form of author biographies, expert book reviews and reader commentary.
Benefits Remain the Same
The Reader's high-resolution electronic paper display delivers a realistic print look that rivals traditional paper and uses minimal power. A single battery charge provides up to 7,500 pages of continuous reading. The option to magnify the text in three sizes offers a distinct advantage for sight-impaired readers. Switching the Reader to landscape mode offers yet another level of magnification as well as a wider page view.
In addition to electronic books, the Reader can also store and display personal and business documents in Adobe PDF format (best when formatted for the Reader's display), RTF, text and JPEG images.
Pricing and Availability
The new Reader will retail for about $300 and come complete with a USB cable; eBook Library PC companion software; and a color-coordinated, protective soft cover. The Reader and optional accessories such as pink or black leather covers and an AC wall charger will be available this month direct through HYPERLINK "http://www.sonystyle.com" www.sonystyle.com, at SonyStyle® stores nationwide, Borders stores and at authorized retailers across the country. More information about Sony Reader is available online at HYPERLINK "http://www.sony.com/reader" www.sony.com/reader.
# # #

Starting in September the company will send every e-book purchaser a sticker to put on their laptop that has an 'old book' smell. Of course, college students are fully backwards-compatible with real books. [CafeScribe]

We're not entirely sure how the act of swiping makes reading more enjoyable on an ebook, but hey, whatever makes people adopt technology faster. On a similar note, who's reserved the last Harry Potter book? Doesn't he show his wand in this one or something? – Jason Chen

HP to present 'ebook reader' featuring intuitive interface [AVING]

However, the Kindle is actually a step up in terms of functionality from Sony's reader.

It has a screen display that's just as good, and will be using Mobipocket to supply titles. The release date is spring, which is pretty darn soon.

What's more, the Kindle will have online functionality from its EV-DO connection to buy eBooks directly from Amazon. Despite the device not looking that great from the shots we've seen before, the features do seem to place this as quite a nice alternative to Sony's offering. – Jason Chen

Amazon Kindle this spring for above $400 [Mobileread]

Sony Reader Review [Giz]

Sony pulled Gizmodo into a little back room to play with the final hardware and we've made our decision: Shit ain't half bad for a greyscale, book replacement...it's like a gameboy...for the game of Reading. Here's what we know, what we think, and all our photos, after the jump.

The electronic ink technology is passive, looks good as paper, and only uses power when refreshing, so a single battery charge'll last 7,500 page turns.

The screen is 160 DPI, with a 6-inch display. But we were a little bit too busy admiring the resolution...and furrowing our brow at the ghosting you can see from some of the photos below. And page turns? Sluggish, but obviously fast enough for reading. (Well, for you guys...I'm a speed reader.)

It'll playback DRM'd books you can purchase through the Connect Bookstore (more on that later), with titles provided by all the major publishing houses. But it's easy enough to use simple text, RTF, PDF (unprotected)), JPGs, GIFs, MP3s, and AAC files. It'll even do RSS feed...including some Gawker titles, thank you very much!

Yes, it'll playback greyscale images, or music files from its Memory Stick, or SD card. (Yes, SD card) The greyscale images look all right.

MP3 playback is totally not recommended. Sure, you'd think it would be good for audio books, but I can't imagine what digital audio playback does for battery life on this guy. And once you're in book mode, it takes over 10 clicks to get to MP3 control menus to, say, switch a track or stop playing, and then go back to reading. Hmmmph.

It charges via USB (6 hours) or a PSP-type power adapter (4 hours).

There are a lot of buttons on this thing, including two sets of page up/down triggers. We liked the bookmark button, which also dog-ears the page.

Dedicated volume buttons? All right. Then there's the 10 digit menu pad on the bottom of the screen that correlates with the numbers on the right hand side of the screen. Those numbers are for going through menus, not entering page numbers to jump to. WTF?

You might ask yourself why there isn't a simple digital cross for all the controls. That's easy — every time you clicked up or down, it would count as a page refresh, and drain the Reader's juice.

The Connect Store looks..iTunes-ish. That's a good thing. Oh, and you can redownload your purchased books, which is sweet. Books should be cheaper than paperbacks, but that stuff is set by the publishers. Should be 10,000 titles or so, and all major pubs are playing ball to combat those evil libraries and second-hand book stores.
–Brian Lam

The night light uses LEDs.

The dock transfers data and recharging power, and fits the Reader in and out of its leather case.

–Brian Lam

Amazon Kindle E-Book Reader [Via Engadget]

Philips READIUS [TechEBlog]

Additionally, there's FM radio, an eBook reader, VoIP capability, GPS, UMS, video and audio recording through its input ports, WiFi, and Bluetooth. Seriously, it just sounds like the engineers had a field day adding technologies to this—who here can say "feature bloat?" The only thing this doesn't have is a cellphone and Windows Mobile 5.0, which is probably coming in the next version. – Jason Chen

Wizxer [via Dapreview]

Product Page [SonyStyle]

Not only is the display amazing (and amazingly readable), but Sony promised us that there would be no restriction on moving over your own documents to the Reader—the DRM schmutz has been greatly decreased. Not only will the Reader support PDF files natively, but Sony's PC syncing software will automatically convert .doc files with most formatting intact. eBooks will be an optional purchase through Sony's Connect service.

But here's the hottest part: RSS support with images. The digital morning paper is finally about to happen.

(Please note, we think the Sony Reader is exciting as all get out, but we're mostly just excited about a decent consumer ePaper/eInk product in general. Other units are on the way soon from other manufacturers and we're hyped about those, as well.)

Enjoy another, larger picture of the unit displaying text after the jump.