Is Google the least innovative high-tech company? I cannot think of a single Google product that wasn't either an improved copy or a takeover of another company's product. From search to gmail, maps, android, latitude, g+, tv, and now this. I AM glad they usually make them better and more polished competitors, but still... not an ounce of originality?
Move over, Kindle. iriver Story HD is Google's e-Reader, $139.99
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Re: Move over, Kindle. iriver Story HD is Google's e-Reader, $139.99
#22Re: Move over, Kindle. iriver Story HD is Google's e-Reader, $139.99
#23Is Google the least innovative high-tech company? I cannot think of a single Google product that wasn't either an improved copy or a takeover of another company's product. From search to gmail, maps, android, latitude, g+, tv, and now this. I AM glad they usually make them better and more polished competitors, but still... not an ounce of originality?
Re: Move over, Kindle. iriver Story HD is Google's e-Reader, $139.99
#24As for integration with Google Books--while I haven't used GB myself, I read a lot of Project Gutenberg books, and I'm assuming the two are similar platforms. The problem with PG books is that the formatting is just awful for a lot of the ebooks. Sometimes the person compiling the book will slavishly stick to a print edition, going so far as putting page numbers in or other print ephemera; or sometimes the internal coding is so bad that it only looks good on a small subset of readers; or sometimes the book is OCR'd and thus riddled with typos. What I'm saying is, you get what you pay for--and a lot of the free public-domain ebooks are just awfully compiled.
Hell, even some books I've bought from the Amazon store have been very obviously OCR'd with no second thought to ebook presentation or editing--a big example is one of Stephen King's Dark Tower books, which are huge sellers that you'd expect to have been ported to digital with at least a little attention to detail. Not so: the one I bought from the official publisher was obviously OCR'd and so riddled with typos and errors that I returned it to Amazon without finishing it.
So I guess what I'm saying is, I'm not impressed with this device. It's a generation behind the Nook Simple Touch, and integration with Google Books isn't enough to interest me given the awful or non-existent editorial oversight in most public-domain ebooks.
Re: Move over, Kindle. iriver Story HD is Google's e-Reader, $139.99
#25Re: Move over, Kindle. iriver Story HD is Google's e-Reader, $139.99
#26That is one ugly-looking device. But if we're trying to compete on e-ink readers, I think the device to compete against now is the Nook Simple Touch. I loved my Kindle when I had one, but after using the NST I realized how rough a lot of the edges on the Kindle are. It really is a clear and solid step above the Kindle, and it's the device you need to compete with for e-ink. Wifi vs 3g doesn't matter; nobody buys book…
Totally agree, personally. Some people use the 3G for other stuff, but I only read books. Btw, purchased Google eBooks are not like PG, though, they are formatted like purchased Amazon and B&N eBooks.
"It's a generation behind the Nook Simple Touch, and integration with Google Books isn't enough to interest me given the awful or non-existent editorial oversight in most public-domain ebooks."
I'm interested in the new nook too. I saw it in the store, but didn't bother with checking it out. Next time I will. Integration with Google is also irrelevant to me, but access to Google eBooks (and all the other ePUB books with DRM via Adobe) totally matters to me, and this is why I won't buy a Kindle, yet.
When it comes to well-formatted public domain eBooks, I like Feedbooks.
Re: Move over, Kindle. iriver Story HD is Google's e-Reader, $139.99
#27Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have thought about this as well, and I hope (and think) there will be. The Kindle DRM wasn't a problem initially, because it was one of the first widely sold e-readers with a huge company backing it. however, as more devices come out that can compete with the quality of the Kindle, a change will need to happen. I was about to type "No one will buy Amazon e-books without a Kindle, and no one will buy a Kindle if the…
And the problem with saying "No one will buy Amazon e-books without a Kindle, and no one will buy a Kindle if they can't read the books elsewhere," is that it's already untrue. With the Kindle app on iOS and Android devices, plenty of people are doing just that. Don't really have numbers to back that up, though... So another option came to mind: E-readers that can run apps. Apps like Kindle, or Google Books. That mig…
e-readers with apps would solve the problem, but I think that blurs the arena with tablets. a tablet with the Kindle app isn't really different than a Kindle with Angry Birds, right?
Re: Move over, Kindle. iriver Story HD is Google's e-Reader, $139.99
#28Earlier quoted context omitted.
And the problem with saying "No one will buy Amazon e-books without a Kindle, and no one will buy a Kindle if they can't read the books elsewhere," is that it's already untrue. With the Kindle app on iOS and Android devices, plenty of people are doing just that. Don't really have numbers to back that up, though... So another option came to mind: E-readers that can run apps. Apps like Kindle, or Google Books. That mig…
The Nook 2nd Edition is apparently really easy to root and install apps on: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1138564
Amazon has started to allow 3rd party apps on the Kindle, but I don't think it's been very effective or popular, and I don't expect a Google Books app on there any time soon.
Re: Move over, Kindle. iriver Story HD is Google's e-Reader, $139.99
#29That is one ugly-looking device. But if we're trying to compete on e-ink readers, I think the device to compete against now is the Nook Simple Touch. I loved my Kindle when I had one, but after using the NST I realized how rough a lot of the edges on the Kindle are. It really is a clear and solid step above the Kindle, and it's the device you need to compete with for e-ink. Wifi vs 3g doesn't matter; nobody buys book…
"Wifi vs 3g doesn't matter; nobody buys books often enough to really truly NEED 24/7 connectivity across the globe." Totally agree, personally. Some people use the 3G for other stuff, but I only read books. Btw, purchased Google eBooks are not like PG, though, they are formatted like purchased Amazon and B&N eBooks. "It's a generation behind the Nook Simple Touch, and integration with Google Books isn't enough to int…
I agree with what you guys are saying, but without the 3g, my impulse purchases have really gone down. For example, I used to buy periodicals while on the train with some regularity, but now I hardly ever do.
So providing 3g on an e-reader might be a good investment in that sense.
Re: Move over, Kindle. iriver Story HD is Google's e-Reader, $139.99
#30Earlier quoted context omitted.
The Nook 2nd Edition is apparently really easy to root and install apps on: http://forum.xda-developers.com/showthread.php?t=1138564
Right, that's true, but I was thinking just of e-ink devices. It's a tough sell, though, since e-ink devices are really only good for reading, so there might not be much incentive for creating an open e-ink device that can run 3rd party apps. Amazon has started to allow 3rd party apps on the Kindle, but I don't think it's been very effective or popular, and I don't expect a Google Books app on there any time soon.
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/nook/index.asp?PID=35699
I agree on the openness. I don't get the impression that many manufacturers are interested in an e-ink Android device though- B&N and Notion Ink are basically the only ones, IIRC.