Apple's iPad set to rock e-reader biz, says survey

Apple's iPad could seriously disrupt the e-reader business of Amazon, Sony and others, according to a survey last month that queried American consumers on their purchase plans. "The iPad is all but certain to have a transformational impact on [the e-reader market] going forward," said Paul Carton, director of research for ChangeWave Research, in a report issued Friday. "While a handful of e-reader manufacturers -- most prominently Amazon -- clearly have a major head start, the survey findings show the iPad is poised to profoundly shake up this market." Earlier today, Apple announced that the iPad will go on sale April 3, and that it would begin taking pre-orders for the device, which is priced starting at $499, on March 12. ChangeWave polled more than 3,100 U.S. consumers in the first half of February -- days after Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the iPad -- and asked whether they were considering purchasing an e-reader, and if so, which one, in the next 90 days. Of those who said they would probably buy a device, 40% said they planned on purchasing an iPad, compared to 28% who ticked off Amazon's Kindle, 6% who said they would buy a Barnes & Noble Nook and 1% who voted for the Sony Reader. Carton issued a caveat. "Amazon and the others are not going to just sit there and twiddle their thumbs, they'll react," he said during an interview Friday. But if they don't, and the iPad is as successful as the ChangeWave poll indicates, he added, the Kindle, Nook and Sony Reader could find themselves playing catch-up. He also warned against awarding the iPad top prize in the e-reader sweepstakes based on one poll. "The iPad has not been launched, so declaring victory before the army has landed is premature," he said. Other results from the survey, however, pointed to the iPad's future success, whether or not it unseats the Kindle. Both the 4% who said they were "very likely" to buy Apple's new device and the 9% who confirmed that they were "somewhat likely" to purchase an iPad were larger numbers than said the same in a similar survey in April 2007 prior to the launch of the first-generation iPhone. In 2007, just 3% of American consumers polled said they were very likely to buy Apple's first smartphone, while 6% said they were somewhat likely to. "There was far more skepticism before the iPhone's launch than now with the iPad, both from analysts and from consumers," said Carton. "No one remembers now, but before the iPhone [went on sale], some analysts said who was Apple to dare to go into the cell phone market." The takeaway from the survey, Carton continued, isn't that the iPad's numbers were larger by a point or two, but that demand for it is at least equal to, if not greater than, the pre-sales demand for the iPhone. ChangeWave also measured the cannibalization impact that the iPad will have on other Apple products by asking consumers whether they would now be buying a tablet in place of one or more devices they had been considering. One in 10 said they had put an iPhone purchase on hold because they planned to buy an iPad; 9% said they would delay plans to buy either an iPod or Mac laptop. In the end, a quarter of those with plans to buy an iPad acknowledged that they would delay other Apple product purchases.bb multi unlocker key v16 hytek meet manager alpha arabic school software 1 0 w810i camera driver car finder ar app dolphin browser hd 8 6 1 creeper world free mac plants vs zombies blackberry storm 9550 spanish tonka construction computer game logmein hamachi windows 7 64 bit diamond stealth drivers portuguese

Twitter reverses policy that would allow blocked persons to follow user

Twitter reversed a controversial policy change announced Thursday that would let a user block others on Twitter, but the blocked users could continue to follow and see the user's tweets and interact with them. "We have decided to revert the change after receiving feedback from many users -- we never want to introduce features at the cost of users feeling less safe," wrote Michael Sippey, Twitter's vice president of product, in a blog post. The policy changes proposed by Twitter earlier in the day were sharply criticized by users. Before the new policy, if a user was being harassed or trolled by spam accounts, clicking the "block" button would prevent the persons from following the user and also remove them from mentions and timeline, according to a petition on Change.org. "Now, even if you block someone who is harassing you, that person becomes invisible to you but they are free to follow you and RT you into their timeline," wrote petitioner Zerlina Maxwell. Her petition collected 1,500 signatures a few hours after it was put up. Twitter's proposed new blocking policy stated that when a user blocked someone, the user would no longer see the person in the follower list, updates from that person in their home timeline, or their replies or mentions in the Connect tab on Twitter. The blocked person would also not be aware of being blocked. "Now when you block a user, they cannot tell that you've blocked them," said Twitter CEO Dick Costolo in a Twitter message, adding that it was a longstanding request from users of block. But "blocking a user does not prevent that user from following you, interacting with your Tweets, or receiving your updates in their timeline," if your account is public, according to the now-reversed policy update. If the user's tweets are protected and available to a select group, then blocking the person will cause them to unfollow the user, it added. On Twitter, users said that the new policy would make abuse easier. "If Twitter sticks to this new block policy we're going to see people go protected. Less community. More walled gardens. Everyone loses," one user wrote in a Twitter message.deity wars for pc driver ess solo 1938 ati d33a27 drivers photo grid for android antivirus avg gratis da scaricare utorrent 3 2 1 beta vf0070 webcam driver lineage 2 indonesia brilliance 200p driver lg lpc u30 driver

Amazon's new Kindle rachets up e-reader price battle

Amazon.com's announcement late Wednesday that it will launch a new version of its Kindle e-book reader in August could further stoke a price battle in the e-reader market. E-book reader prices have been slowly falling for months but price cuts began to gain pace since late June, when Barnes & Noble cut the price of its Nook reader and introduced a new model at $149. The price made it the cheapest e-book reader from a major retailer. It still holds that distinction today, but might not hold it much longer. Amazon.com's third-generation Kindle will come in two models, one with 3G wireless and one without, and the cheaper of the two will cost $139 when it goes on sale on Aug. 27. It's an impressive price decline for the Kindle, the cheapest model of which cost $259 in the middle of June. In late August, barely two months later, the Kindle entry point will have dropped by almost half. "At that price it's now almost an impulse buy for some consumers," said Tim Renowden, an analyst at Ovum in London. He said he wouldn't be surprised if Barnes & Noble further cut the price of the Nook, but that the competition would most be felt by lesser-known brands. Many of these companies have used price as a key selling point, but with the Kindle so cheap it will be hard to compete when Amazon.com offers additional benefits, such as tight integration with its online store and a huge library of books. The lower price also increases the gap between e-readers and a slew of tablet PCs that are now coming to market. Led by Apple's iPad and including several promised machines based on Google's Android OS, the tablets offer many more functions than e-readers but are heavier, have much shorter battery life and are typically more difficult to read for long periods of time. Amazon.com is banking on the lower price translating into more sales, and there is evidence that could already be happening.. . . . . . . . . . . .

Amazon to demo Kindle for the Web on Tuesday

Amazon plans to demonstrate a new version of Kindle for the Web on Tuesday, one day after Google launched its Google eBooks and eBookstore strategy. (See correction below.) An Amazon spokeswoman said via an e-mail to Computerworld late Monday that the new Kindle for the Web will "enable users to read full books in the browser and [enable] any Website to become a bookstore offering Kindle books." The spokeswoman didn't elaborate. The Kindle for the Web concept first surfaced in September and the Tuesday announcement could be a "natural evolution" of Amazon's e-book strategy, said Allen Weiner, an analyst at Gartner. Amazon first launched Kindle for the Web as a beta application in September to allow customers to discover new books by sampling first chapters of the books directly through Web browsers without the need for a software download. Based on the spokeswoman's statement on Monday, the new version would allow book purchases of Kindle books through various Web sites offering them. It also would also allow reading of the full book, not just samples. Google announced Google eBooks and Google eBook store on Monday, giving customers e-book purchasing and browsing access through dozens of devices including, importantly, various Google-backed Android smartphones and tablets. In addition, the e-books can be purchased from Google's eBookstore or independent booksellers. The open, cloud-based system might look like a sure winner for Google, but analysts noted that Amazon is well-established with years of experience selling e-books. Amazon has also sold millions of proprietary Kindle e-readers, although there is disagreement on the actual figure. Some believe the number is 5 million to 6 million, although Amazon has not said. Gartner and other analyst firms estimate that Amazon's Kindles make up about half of the market for black-and-white e-readers, not including devices like Apple's iPad or the Samsung Galaxy Tab. In addition to its Kindles, Amazon supports other platforms for reading its e-books, including Android-based devices, the iPad, the iPhone and the BlackBerry, as well PCs and Macs.kamus korea untuk handphone belkin f5l009 driver canon scanner lide 50 driver skateboard park tycoon 2004 tpb blister in the sun instrumental dxg model 202v digital camera driver archos xs2 driver angry birds space for symbian belle badboy v5 cheat hack for cs 1 6 aimbot speedhack intex it 105wc driver

Kobo Wireless eReader

The Kobo Wireless eReader aspires to compete with the big kids in the e-reader arena. This iteration represents a marked improvement over its predecessor, offering higher contrast, a sharper E Ink display, and better performance. Unfortunately, the Wireless eReader still lacks the polish and finesse of the leaders. And at $139 (as of December 13, 2010), it's the same price as an Amazon Kindle. While the general design of the Kobo Wireless eReader remains the same, the company has made some tweaks to enhance the chassis. Now you can buy it in black, white and lavender, or white and silver; regrettably, though, the matte-black finish is prone to getting scratched in daily use. As on the Amazon Kindle, the black border greatly enhances readability. Kobo joins Amazon and Sony in offering an E Ink Pearl display, which provides better contrast and clarity than earlier E Ink displays (such as the one on the original Kobo). Inside, Kobo has overhauled the Wireless eReader to provide faster page turns and performance. Indeed, in comparison with the original version, this model feels like a fleet-footed marathoner. The improved performance addresses my biggest complaints about the first-generation Wireless eReader (which suffered from poor usability, sluggish performance, and stiff buttons). However, while the enhancements go far, they don't go far enough. The Amazon Kindle and the Sony Reader Touch Edition still offer better performance. I could perceive significant page flicker and some lag while turning pages and navigating within the Kobo reader. And although the buttons are no longer stiff monstrosities and are more responsive than before, I still had an issue with trying to navigate precisely, in spite of the raised dots that are supposed to help one know precisely where to push; often, I invoked the wrong command, or I failed to select the option I wanted. Kobo, for those unfamiliar with the company, is an international e-book service and hardware provider backed by Canada's Indigo Books & Music, the U.S.-based Borders Group, REDgroup Retail, and Cheung Kong Holdings. The company differentiates its e-reader by complementing the fairly stock hardware with pleasing touches (textured and rubberized backing, softer-touch buttons) and above-average original software. The Wireless eReader model makes for a compelling, more open (with its support of ePub and Adobe Digital Editions content) e-reader that costs significantly less than the Sony Reader Touch Edition. Kobo marries its Kobobooks.com online store--which has more than 2 million e-books as well as periodicals--with mobile apps for Android, iPad, iPhone, and BlackBerry, as well as its value-priced, connected e-reader. The Wireless eReader makes it easy to sync a book with other devices by updating your library while you're reading a text. (The process isn't as automated on Amazon's Kindle, for example, but it is an option now.) You can access your account via the Web, or through an app that you can install off the e-reader.audio driver for windows 2003 navicat lite for ubuntu remove windows 7 wga remover intel proset wireless wifi software 12 0 0 x cheat engine bejeweled blitz facebook epson tm u950p driver huawei unlocker by clubs adobe flash player for ziio hellgate london x64 trainer mci cd audio driver

Libre Touch Color E-Reader Has Usability Flaws

More and more devices are blurring the lines between ebook reader and tablet, but the Aluratek Libre Touch isn't one of them. While it does support basic Web browsing, email, and multimedia playback, the Libre Touch is first and foremost an e-reader with a color touchscreen and integration (via Wi-Fi) with an online bookstore. But although its feature list is respectable, usability flaws make the Libre Touch a tough sell, even at its attractive price ($150 as of August 5, 2011). Tall, narrow, and slim (8.0 by 4.9 by 0.5 inches), and reasonably lightweight (just under 12 ounces), the Libre Touch looks like many of the 7-inch readers and tablets we've seen lately, with a couple of minor modifications. Its charcoal-gray bezel has three hardware buttons on the right side, including two concealed by the case itself; these are for turning pages forward and back. The third button is a short, vertical silvery bar for returning to the preceding task: If you're reading a book, for example, pressing that button moves you to the library screen where you selected the book. On the top edge is the large, silvery power button. Along the bottom edge are, from left to right, a Mini-USB port (for charging the Libre Touch and connecting it to a PC), a MicroSD card slot (if you want more than the internal 4GB of memory), a volume rocker control, and a standard 3.5mm headphone port. Most of the action occurs through the display's touch interface. The first time you turn it on, the Libre Touch runs a calibration routine that immediately betrays its Android underpinnings: The process is directed by the little Android bot. However, the device is based on an older version of Android (1.5), so it doesn't have all the goodies associated with more current versions. For example, the browser lacks support for Adobe Flash, so you can't access all Web content. And you don't get any tools for downloading additional Android apps. The screen uses resistive technology, which is less fingertip-friendly than capacitive touchscreens are--but the Libre Touch's designers apparently expect you to use your fingertips, since they didn't include a stylus. It isn't the greatest experience--sometimes you have to tap a few times to get a response when you're trying to follow a link or type something on the software keyboard--so it's a good thing that Aluratek built in those hardware buttons for page turns.yahoo messenger pentru telefon htc du meter crack 4 01 trivial pursuit digital choice windows 7 nitya pavan smaran mantra avast antivirus for pc asus n13219 motherboard drivers driver going wrong way turkish acute email id generator skype for samsung gt s5230 star brazilian assault team 3d 1 0

Goodbye e-books, hello apps

"It doesn't matter how good or bad the product is, the fact is that people don't read anymore ... Forty percent of the people in the U.S. read one book or less last year." - Wired quoting Steve Jobs on e-readers in 2008 Steve was right. I used to love to read, but how many books do I manage to get through these days? It's a fraction of what I used to, and seeing Jobs' comment recently got me thinking about why this should be. When e-readers first came out I was excited. This meant I could jump on a plane or sit in my back yard or on a beach with a huge selection of titles without lugging around pounds of paper and, if I felt the need to switch books, well, my library was potentially limitless. Many other people felt the same way. Sales of e-readers and e-books exploded over the last few years. But according to my friend Doug Pardee, who follows the e-book world closely, "The latest US trade book sales figures, for November 2011, just came out from the Association of American Publishers [and] e-book sales (USD, wholesale, from AAP's reporting publishers) have now remained flat at about $80 million per month for the past six months." This is an unexpected result given the huge sales of Nooks, iPads and all of the other e-book capable devices. Doug theorized that the reason for this phenomenon is that "Today's buyers aren't e-book readers; they're online-media consumers. Videos, music, whatever. But sit down and read an e-book?" I think Doug's hit on a key issue: A physical book is expected to be just a book but that same content on an e-reader has to offer much more to be compelling. I recently saw a video of a 1-year-old baby poking an iPad. She was able to turn pages, click buttons ... to her it was a completely intuitive experience. Then her parents gave her a glossy magazine which she proceeded to poke and prod and get frustrated with. Her parents concluded that, as far as she was concerned, a magazine was an iPad that didn't work (the author also noted that "Steve Jobs has coded part of my daughter's OS"). I think the same problem exists with e-books. I recently purchased "Salted: A Manifesto on the World's Most Essential Mineral" by Mark Bitterman for the Nook app on my iPad. While I found the writing over the top and the content somewhat repetitive, it was the layout that really disappointed and annoyed me and made me feel I'd wasted my money.vimicro diamond audio model emc 2 0 driver sound card driver for linux nforce 430 linux drivers polish wechat custom emoticons angry birds for psp 3004 lucida grande bold font kamus al munawwir visual basic express edition 2010 tutorial pdf driver oracle jdbc driver oracledriver