Archive for Technology
Introducing the Good e-Reader Android App Store Client
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We are proud to unleash the beta version of our standalone Android App Store client! This is an extension of our browser based store that we unveiled last month. It brings to the table exciting new features and a very clean interface.
The Good e-Reader Android App Store has been a huge success for us with over 50,000 visitors on the website since it launched in the second week of Janurary. The premise of the store is to give people outside of the USA a chance to get their hands on the latest apps! We have apps that Getjar and other alterantive markets simply don’t have and we put a strong emphasis on reading programs. You can get popular apps like Kindle, Nook, Sony, Kobo, Aldiko, Flash 11, Marvel Comics and tons more! We currently have over 250 apps that are basically, in our minds, the best apps out there.
Our new client is easy to install to your device and there is a few ways you can get it on your Kobo Vox, Kindle Fire, Pandigital Novel, Micro CRUZ or any other android device. You can open up your browser on your tablet and visit our App store HERE. You can also download the Android file straight to your PC and then copy it to your tablets memory. Finally use your file manager on the tablet to launch our app and get downloading new programs right away.
We are always updating the app daily, so much sure to keep on checking for our Beta 2 release. This will give you push notifications when new updates are available, so you will always make sure you have the latest version available. Also you can chat with other people who have installed the app and get troubleshooting assistance with our dynamic commenting system.
We are looking for your feedback on the development of this app, it is polished and nearly done. If you have a large tablet or rooted device, we would love to hear how it looks and any key features we might have missed. Please comment on this post and let us know how it looks on your end and how you like it.
Download the new Good e-Reader App Store for Android Client HERE.
Amazon in the Process of Launching a Retail Store
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Amazon sources close to the situation have told us that the company is planning on rolling out a retail store in Seattle within the next few months. This project is a test to gauge the market to see if a chain of stores would be profitable. They intend on going with the small boutique route with the main emphasis on books from their growing line of Amazon Exclusives and selling their e-readers and tablets.
Seattle is where Amazons main headquarters is based and is known as a fairly tech savvy market. It is a perfect launch location to get some hands on experience in the retail sphere. A source has told us that they are not looking to launch a huge store with thousands of square feet. Instead they are going the boutique route and stocking the shelves with only high margin and high-end items. Their intention is to mainly hustle their entire line of Kindle e-Readers and the Kindle Fire. They also will be stocking a ton of accessories such as cases, screen protectors and USB adapters.
The company has already contracted the design through a shell company as they are most famous for. When Amazon releases new products to the FCC it is always done through anonymous proxy companies to avoid disclosure to their competition on what they are working on. They are doing this for the actual first store layout and design and modeling themselves after Apple.
The store itself they are creating is not just selling tangible items like e-readers and tablets but also their books. Amazon recently started their own publishing division and has locked up many indie and prominent figures to write exclusively with the company. This has prompted their rivals such as Barnes and Noble and Books-A-Million to publicly proclaim they won’t touch Amazons physical book with a ten-foot-pole. Amazon launching their own store will give customer a way to physically buy books and also sample ebooks via WIFI when they are in a physical location.
This is exciting news and Amazon in a great position to make a strong go out of their retail endeavors. They are starting locally and small mainly to test the waters with a new store but also figure out how their going to avoid paying massive taxes. In the last few years there has been a huge tax debate because Amazon sells things online and only pays State taxes if they have a distribution center within a particular location. Having a physical store means the company will have to start paying more taxes and they are currently working out the logistics and tax loopholes before they launch.
We have heard a time-frame of their first location starting up before the end of the year to capitalize on the lucrative holiday season. I expect it to launch soon after the Kindle Fire 2 is announced to maximize the exposure they are going to get.
Corning Releases Day of Glass 2 – Where Screen Display Technology Might Go
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Corning, the company behind the famous Gorilla Glass screen technology found in many phones and tablets, has been living and breathing the avant garde. The brilliant minds at the company have been releasing concept technology for many years, trying to get companies to bite. They released a new video today that expanded upon their original day of glass video that saw seminal success.
The video shows how their glass technology can be employed in the home, school, business, and medical fields. Words simply cannot do this video justice and you have to watch it to fully appreciate the company’s vision to durable and highly interactive display surfaces.
Books-A-Million Proclaims NO Amazon Book Titles in Their Stores
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Barnes and Noble made waves earlier this week when they issued statements that they would not carry any Amazon published books in their stores. It seems this proclamation resonated with the nation’s second largest book seller Books-A-Million. The company today officially announced that they also would not carry any of the books that Amazon publishes.
Books-A-Million is headquartered in Birmingham, Alabama and has bookstores in 31 States in over 200 locations. They are the second major company thus far to resist the urge to carry physical books in their retail locations from their arch-nemesis Amazon. There is no word yet on whether this applies to ebooks. Barnes and Noble mentioned that although they will not carry paperbacks by Amazon they will sell the ebooks in their online store, because there is a higher profit margin on them.
Introducing the Good e-Reader News APP for Android
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We have just rolled out the first version of our official Android News App today! Get caught up with the latest Good e-Reader News while on the go on your phone or tablet! We have dedicated sections of all of our major categories so if you are just interested in publishing or ebook news, you can read with ease.
We made it very easy to navigate and install the application! Simply download it from our own Good e-Reader APP Store right HERE! In the next few days we will be having it listed in the official Google Android Market for those of you that can connect to it. The main reason we are carrying it in our own APP Store is because we know many tablets like the Kobo Vox, Kindle Fire, and Pandigital Novel can’t access the real Google Market. We like to make things as easy as you can. Remember like always, you can open up our App Store in your tablets internet browser and download any app right to your tablet or e-reader.
This App is in Beta! This means graphically things will drastically change in the near future but in the here and now, it works great. We are proud to be the only e-reader blog in the world offering an app to read our articles.
Koobe Jin Yong Reader the Latest Device to Use Mirasol Display Technology
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We only just reviewed the Kyobo Mirasol e-reader, a South Korean exclusive, last week and it looks like Mirasol has another device up their sleeves, the Koobe Jin Yong Reader.
First of all, this latest e-reader is the spitting image of the Kyobo one recently released in terms of hardware. It uses a Qualcomm’s 1.0 GHz Snapdragon S2 class processor and features a 5.7” XGA format with a resolution of 1024 x 768 pixels. The main differences is the User Interface it uses, which is a heavily customized version of Android 2.3. It is also bundled with 15 ebooks by the popular Chinese writer Jin Yong.
The Jin Yong Reader joins the C18 from China’s Hanvon, the Bambook Sunflower from China’s Shanda Networking Co. and the Kyobo eReader from South Korea’s Kyobo Book Centre. All of these use the new Mirasol technology that took over 2 years of constant development. Surprisingly, the displays are very sound and emulate the virtues of Pixel Qi in the respect that they perform very well outdoors. One of the drawbacks is all of these devices never see the light of day in North America and instead are Asian exclusives.
There is no information on release dates or the price, but I see it being competitive with the other Mirasol devices on the market, at $300 US.
Hands on Review of the Sony Tablet S
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Sony released their first tablet computer a few months ago called the Sony Tablet S and since then has been one of the better portable media devices in the world. It’s sleek innovative design is a stark contrast to the myriad of cookie cutter tablets out there that all seem to resemble the same design. The one factor that sets this unit apart from the competition is the sheer amount of customized apps that come bundled with the system.
Hardware
The Sony Tablet S features a 9.4 inch capacitive touchscreen display with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels. It uses technology called TruBlack display which provides more vibrant colors and richer tones of black. This helps particularly with video playback that does full 1080P but if you intend on copying Blu-ray movies you have to do it in the H.264 MPEG-4 format, otherwise it will stutter. Underneath the hood lurks a dual-core Nvidia Tegra 2 dual-core processor and 1 GB of RAM. There is two different models on the market a 16 GB and 32 GB variants depending on your needs for internal memory.
The tablet visually bears a similar resemblance to the Notion Ink Adam that was released last year. It has a curved design so when you have it sitting on a flat surface the screen faces you on a curving arc. On the top of the device is a single .03 MP webcam that won’t win any awards on the resolution but is enough for basic video conferencing via SKYPE or other supported software. On the left-hand side is a 3.5 mm headphone jack and beside that dwells a MicroUSB and SD Card. The SD Card slot will allow you to store extra data on it but cannot physically transfer content from it to your unit. It has a 32 GB maximum limit on storage cards and will not read SDXC cards. I found myself merely keeping my movies and music on it because you can only read one file at a time with the native File Manager App that is bundled with it.
On the bottom of the Tablet S is the proprietary Sony Charging port and I like the design of it. Obviously the tablet comes shipped with a physical wall charger to power it up and out of the box it does not come charged. I like the way this adapter works because when you plug it in there are two plastic ports that lock it into place. This insures when you are actually using it the power adapter will not accidentally become dislodged. The right hand side features physical volume buttons and a power button. Both the left and right hand side have stereo speakers which is a boon and I loved the positioning of them.
So many tablets these days are shipped with speakers on the bottom of the device and presents many challenges when having it lay flat on its back. The Kobo Vox and Nook Tablet are two models in particular that suffer from this problem and gives you sub-par audio because it always comes across as muffled. The sound on the Tablet S is not that great to be honest, Netflix movies send to have very low volume emitting from the speakers even when the volume is cranked up. I suggest investing in a good pair of headphones if you intend on consuming media.
What I really like is the back of the device which has a cool black grip that makes holding onto it easier then most. It is much akin to the Kobo line of e-readers with the quilted back in this respect. There is also a 5 MP camera with no LED Flash to film videos or take pictures.
I really love the design of the Tablet S, it is a fresh and unique and I don’t see Apple suing them for patent infringement. If you look at most of Samsung’s tablets they all look the same and this is really what is facing the tablet industry in general. Most families of tablets like Skytex, Archos, Coby, Samsumg, LG and Motorola end up all looking the same design wise and the only differences are found underneath the hood or the occasional HDMI out. I review a ton of tablets that come out and the Sony Tablet S with its elegant form-factor looks like it costs more then it actually does.
Performance wise it does a really good job with its hardware! Videos and Audio normally are stutter free and Playstation Network games function very well considering this is not a dual core machine. You connect to all of these services via WIFI and currently there is no 3G model.
Software
The Sony Tablet S is shipped with the latest version of Google Honeycomb and the company promises a Ice Cream Sandwich update in the next few months. Now lets be clear, this is not a stock Android experience like you will see on many other tablets, Sony went the extra mile to develop all sorts of unique apps and a cool animated GUI that makes the app menu look interesting.
Most tablets out of the box when they are running Android usually use most of the stock programs and make the customer have to patronize various Android Markets in order to get media, book, file manager and other essential applications to get running properly. Sony has all of these apps right out of the box and are all optimized to be touchscreen friendly.
There are a few applications that caught my attention right away like the Music App. It gives you the ability to have your albums display as cover art laying down on a pseudo 3D surface. You can hold down on any of them and drag them around. The actual controlling of music on your timeline is brimming with options which puts the stock media player to shame.
Some other customized applications of note is the Social Feed Reader which connects with your Facebook and Twitter accounts and puts them all in one place so you don’t have to access each account individually. The video player also is well laid out and groups similar content together in a graphical directory structure similar to Windows 7.
Sony actually runs their own Android App Store that comes bundled with the Tablet S called Select App. This basically has most of your essential tablet friendly applications in all one place. Although this model does have official Google Android Market compatibility, it is still nice to browse apps that are judged to be fully compliant.
There are a few key features found on the Tablet S on a software level that really make it stand out from the rest of the Android Crowd. For one it has full DLNA capabilities and a few applications to take advantage of this. If you have a DLNA sound system or TV you can swipe upwards and transfer movies, tv shows, pictures and music to play on your television. Speaking of your TV it also functions as a universal remote control with the easiest setup ever. Really, with most physical universal remotes you have to know your exact model of TV, along with a bunch of serial numbers and remote codes. The Tablet S simply takes your TV brand and automatically syncs with it giving you full control over it within 10 seconds. If you use a receiver, cable box or any other 3rd party system to give yourself content, this also pairs with any of that. This new tablet certainly gives you tremendous practical uses other then just playing games or watching movies.
Gaming is what this device is all about with connection to the Play Station Network! Now this is not the full network you would connect via your PSP, Vita or PS3. Instead it has around 15 games that are 1st generation Playstation 1 titles. What I liked about the whole gaming process is every game uses the same GUI for your dual controllers and other buttons. If you look at iOS games there really is no standard in the way the touchscreen game experience plays out. This model on the other hand has the same controller scheme no matter what game you play. If you are not a fan of touchscreen controllers you can simply pair it with your PS3 controller and game externally. Personally, I hate touchscreen games and love connecting external gamepads or controllers to play them. Hunching over a small screen for a number of hours is not fun but sitting back and holding a controller in your hand is easy.
If you love to read, Sony has you covered with their Sony Reader App that ships with the Tablet S. You can buy and read books using their own app store but because its Android the sky is your limit for ebook reading apps like Kindle, Nook, Kobo, and many more from the Good e-Reader App Store. One of the advantages of owning an Android device is how easy it is to install 3rd party programs to deal with the stores you want and not be limited in buying or reading.
The 9.4 inch screen is perfect for comic books, manga, newspapers, magazines and complex PDF documents. For some reason a 7 inch screen never really cuts it for me and images always need to be pinched and zoomed in order to read each page. The bigger the screen the more images can be packed inside and reading image heavy content is very satisfying. I especially liked reading Comics with Droid Comic Viewer and Magazines via Zinio.
The entire software experience is unlike anything you will see on 95% of the tablets on the market. It comes shipped with Flash and every app you would need right out of the box. This is not your standard fare either, Sony invested a ton of time and money developing 50% of their own content you will find pre-loaded when you power it on for the first time. They even have their own video streaming service that allows you to watch, rent and buy TV Shows and Movies. Really, if you wanted to do exclusive business with Sony they have everything you need.
Our Thoughts
Finally a Tablet with a full QWERTY keyboard and a NUM Pad on the same screen! When we turned it on for the first time and immediately were greeted by a customized keyword when inputting our WIFI password was a thing of beauty and was indicative of things to come. A simple NUM PAD may not seem like a big deal but if you have a ton of passwords with numbers in them, you have to go through less wasted motions to type it in. This is really how the entire Sony Tablet experience plays out, attention to detail and doing subtle things differently.
If there was any true iPad competitor it would have to be the 10.1 inch Samsung Galaxy Tab and the Sony Tablet S. The advantage Sony has is their unique UI which does not deviate from the stock Android experience most people are used to but does add a bit of animations and flair. The true beauty for novice users is that every program you want is available on it right out of the box. I can’t tell you how many low rent tablets I review and they have NOTHING on them, not even an e-reading app. They have a basic Web-kit browser and the default media player, which is hurting. It was really a great experience to crank this open and feel my love of tablets starting to surface again.
Really, if you want a great tablet for under $400 that will get the Ice Cream Sandwich treatment in a month and does everything you want, buy this.
The Pro’s
DLNA
Universal Remote
Playstation Network
Firmware compatibility for PS3 Controllers
Google Android Market Access
Tons of customized applications
Video quality is amazing
Rich Colors and get Black Contrast
Snappy and Robust
The Con’s
No Micro SD
Sound quality is poor, you need headphones
The default music player stutters if you have too many apps open
Playstation Store does not have many titles available
Universal Remote will prompt people to visit a wall of TV’s and change all the channels
Rating: 9.5/10
Freescale Shortlisted Good e-Reader for the Smart Mobile Device Pundit of 2012
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We are proud to announce today that out of a field of initially 80 different blogs, Freescale Semiconductor has shortlisted our own Good e-Reader as being one of the Top 20 Tech Blogs in the world! This is a huge step forward and a great honor that they—and by extension YOU—have recognized our website has being the definitive source of e-Reader, eBook, digital publishing, and tablet news! Although this is huge for us, the contest is not over yet! On February 9th, they are weeding out the competition and announcing the Top 5 2012 Smart Mobile Device Pundit! We would like to encourage everyone to vote for us by clicking on this link http://freescale.com/pundit, then clicking VOTE, and then on my name! There are no complex fields or any other information to write down, it’s a simple click to vote feature.
4G Blackberry Playbook to be Released in May
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The second iteration of the Blackberry Playbook is due out before the summertime and it is jam packed with some great new features. RIM intends on launching this tablet soon after the final build of the new OS2 OS that seeks to revitalize the companies tablet ambitions.
The Playbook 2 will feature a dual-core 1.5 GHZ processor along with 1 GB of RAM. It will visually look much akin to the Playbook 1 in terms of form and function. Of course it will maintain the HDMI out that has proven popular with customers in a home and business setting. The big news with this tablet is it will have a 4G high speed data connection and finally the ability to use a SIM card with it. This means no more having to pair it with your existing phone to get a hook up to the internet. In addition if you are a fan of Google Wallet and NFC, you are in for a treat. The company has confirmed they are going to use Near-Field-Communication to interact with other devices and pay for things in supported stores.
RIM realized with the first version of the Playbook it was hard for their business traveling class customers to utilize the tablet properly. It involved using Blackberry Bridge to have access to the internet in zones that do not have wireless internet access. I think its a positive step forward to issue a new version of the Playbook with expanded under the hood hardware.
Kobo Expands e-Readers to the Netherlands with Libris BLZ
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Kobo has now opened up shop officially in the Netherlands today in conjunction with their new business partner—Dutch retailer Libris Blz. Starting January 30th, you will be able to walk into one of their stores or order online and get free shipping. The only product the company is stocking right now is the Kobo Touch Reader, but we were told the Kobo Vox should be available next month.
“Through our new partnership with Libris Blz., we’re confident our expansion into the Netherlands will be a huge success,” said Michael Serbinis, CEO of Kobo. “Kobo’s focus has always been to bring eReading and eBooks to people everywhere around the world. By launching in the Netherlands, and bringing eReading to the passionate Dutch reading community – we are one more country closer to delivering on that promise.”
“Libris Blz. and Kobo are a perfect fit, as we are driven by a strong passion for reading and books, and both organizations see great potential in eReading,” stated Caroline Damwijk, Managing Director of Libris Blz. B.V.
The deal between Kobo and Libris Blz marks the latest chapter in the European domination strategy that was outlined at last year’s London Book Fair. Since then, the company has expanded into the UK, France, Spain, and Germany.
The Good e-Reader Android App Store Hits a New Milestone
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Two weeks ago we launched a project to help people with no official Google Android Market access through a new web based alternative, the Good e-Reader Android App Store! We are happy to report that we have hit 150 apps for you to download totally free!
The premise of our store is to give users who have the Kindle Fire, Nook Color, Kobo Vox, and other popular Android driven e-readers and tablets a viable alternative to many of the questionable app stores out there. The main problem we found in reviewing every single device that hits the streets is most markets don’t have a wide selection of comic book, e-reading, magazine, and newspaper apps. We put them all in one place so you can find all of the essential programs you would want to install right away. Although our focus is applications geared towards reading digital content, we have a wide array of other apps that we know people want. Netlifx, Adobe Flash, Hulu+, Youtube, and many other popular programs are available in our famous 2 click download process.
Obviously, many stores feature thousands of Android apps and you may think to yourself, “Why should I bother with Good e-Reader if they have a paltry amount?” We are really focused on quality and not quantity. It is super important to us that we only offer the best apps that everyone wants on their device and are geared more towards Android e-readers.
To make life easier, we are rolling out a series of video tutorials that walks you through the entire process of loading Android Apps on your various e-readers. Currently, we have videos of the Kindle Fire and Kobo Vox with more on the way.
In the near future, we are rolling out an official standalone market application that you can install right on your tablet to make your life even easier than our web based alternative. Good things take time and we are diligently developing it right now.
Get downloading Android Apps right away for your tablet, phone or e-reader at http://goodereader.com/apps/.
Nook Simple Touch Now Has the Ability to Use an External Keyboard
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The Nook Simple Touch Reader is one of the most popular ebook readers in the USA and now has new-found abilities. An enterprising coder from popular forum XDA Developers by the name of verygreen tapped into the existing Kernal that supports USB Host Mode. This allowed him to attach a keyboard and mp3 player or other low powered devices to interact with the NST. Although this may not be a solution for your average user because of the complexities involved, there is a working patch available to DOWNLOAD.
Graphicly Self-Publishing Comic Book Tools in Development
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Have you ever wanted to develop and distribute your own comic book? Many talented artists the world over want to create the next Batman or Wolverine and now your dream is closer to reality. San Francisco based comic book company Graphicly has developed a new set of tools that will make the process of creating and distributing comic books easier than ever.
Graphicly currently markets its comic books to many platforms, which makes aspiring artists and writers tap into a large ecosystem. iBooks, Kobo, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Android are the main stores the company peddles its wares to. It even has the ability to embed your comic into an HTML5 compliant stream that can be displayed on your own blog or website. Graphicly offers authors and publisher the ability to select the type of distribution they need, as well as the revenue model that best suits them, from a basic free offering to a flat rate per conversion and a number of options in between. Web and Facebook posting via the self-service platform are free, with other platforms and services requiring additional commitment.
“Over the past few years, the team at Graphicly identified an unmet need in the digital publishing industry for automated tools to convert, distribute, and promote image-based content,” said Micah Baldwin, Graphicly founder and CEO. “By opening up our proven digital distribution platform, we now provide these services, while giving authors and publishers full control of their content and revenue streams and a deep understanding of how readers are engaging with their content. We believe our customer’s books should be available in every marketplace imaginable, with the knowledge and support to properly market and promote them.”
The full suite of self-publishing tools will be available to officially roll-out in the next few weeks and we will keep you appraised of the situation.
