Software - Page 2

Amazon has (finally) released their Kindle application for Mac computers (Intel-based only, OS X 10.5 and above).

Via Engadget

Barnes and Noble say that they will offer their eReader application for the iPad, and it'll be available "around the time" of the device's launch. The application will be free.

Apple iPad photo

The iPad is set to launch on April 3rd, with pre-orders starting tomorrow.

via Engadget

Scribd (an online document-hosting service) announced a new feature: send-to-device. This allows you to send a document to your mobile-phone or e-reader. Currently hey support the Amazon Kindle, Nook, EZReader, COOL-ER and iREX readers. They also plan to make PDF documents available in ePub format, which will allow even more devices.

Via Mashable

Amazon today released a Kindle application for Blackberry phones. It's a free download, available in the US only. 

Via Engdaget

Yesterday Apple finally unveiled the new iPad tablet. This is basically an oversized iPhone (it is running the same OS). It doesn't have an OLED display, nor an E Ink - it's an IPS LCD (which has a better image quality and viewing angle than normal LCDs, but requires more power).

Apple iPad photo

It is also an e-reader - supporting ePub, PDF and Kindle books (via an application). The e-reader app is called iBooks, and there's a bookstore too (iBookstore) that uses the ePub format. Apple also targets this for newspaper with rich content and video support. Apple claims 10 hour battery life with a month of standby.

So will this shake the new e-reader market? It seems hardly likely - it's an expensive, big, heavy device with a very bad battery life, compared to 'dedicated' e-readers. The display might be an issue too - it looks superb, but it's not as easy on the eye as an E Ink. But then again, this is Apple... so you never know. I guess the real question is whether people want a dedicated e-reader that is great for the job, or would rather have a more general-use tablet PC that is also a good e-reader.

Copia has just announced six new e-readers (in two series, the Tidal and the Ocean), and a new software platform too. It is focused on social networking (Facebook and Twitter) - so you can share your library with friends, and see how your reading habits overlap. The online store will actually support any e-reader that supports the ePub format. Here's a nice video explaining the interface:

Kurzweil Technologies is set to release a new e-reader software, the Blio. This will run on PCs and tablet computers, and let you access over a million books with color. The idea is that Blio lays out the 'pages' just like would be been on paper - it preserves the original book’s format, including typsetting, layout, fonts and pagination.

Blio includes text-to-speech, but with a twist - if you also have the book's audio-version, it automatically syncs the two, and you can hear the words and see them highlighted in the same time. Nice.

Via Wired