Tech review maven Walter Mossberg has posted a review of the Irex DR800SG e-book reader. This reader costs $140 more than the Kindle e-reader and is compatible with the Barnes & Noble store among others. Mossberg was not terribly impressed, pointing out a number of areas where its design and user interface could use improvement.

In observation of Read An E-Book Week, DriveThruRPG and White Wolf are offering a free watermarked-PDF download of the 224-page World of Darkness rulebook (list price $24.99) for as long as the week lasts. Enjoy!

A recent survey shows that 90% of academic publishers have seen a growth in e-book sales over the last two years. E-book sales now make up almost 10% of total e-book sales in those markets—twice the level of e-book sales in general. Academic publishers have apparently been much quicker to adapt to the e-book market than trade presses.

The survey found that academic publishers were also relatively unconcerned about the various challenges presented by the shift towards digital books. Although piracy was one of the biggest concerns, [report co-author Laura] Cox said very few publishers thought of it as a serious problem.

It appears the next smartphone platform to receive a Kindle reader will be Android. jkOnTheRun reports on an Engadget posting of leaked documents from Dell stating that the Dell Streak (aka Mini 5), an Android device, will include a Kindle reader application (as well as several other Amazon services).

Sony is bringing more newspaper and magazine content to its e-book store. Probably in a bid to strengthen its position before the iPad arrives, ReadWriteWeb reports, it is adding 20 new papers and magazines, including the New York Times and Boston Globe. (Sony press release here.)

Google is slowly conquering Europe. Or at least Europe’s great libraries. Even as its Google Books program has proven as controversial east of the Atlantic as west of it, it continues to make deals with European libraries to digitize their collections. The Guardian reports that Google is going to be working together with Italian libraries and the Italian Ministry of Cultural Heritage to digitize “up to a million out-of-copyright works”. There is no word on whether this includes any still-in-copyright works as well.

Oddly enough, it happened only a couple of weeks after Google executives received suspended sentences over a controversial YouTube video. Hmm.

TeleRead founder David Rothman sets down his opinions on the decline of newspapers in favor of the web on his Solomon Scandals blog. He feels that “the real newspaper-killer” is online papers’ lack of interactivity and community.

Speaking of which, here is an excellent argument in favor of saving newspapers, found via Adam Tinworth’s blog:

1 COMMENT

  1. Walter Mossberg’s review of the iRex DR800SG seems to breeze past the positives and accentuate the perceived negatives. Of course, with eReaders it’s all about what’s important for you and everyone has their own preferences and needs. For me, this device has no competition at all in the current market. I’ve had mine for over a week and I love it.

    The DR800SG is only an inch wider and a couple ounces heavier than the Kindle 2 while having a reading area 80% greater. That’s freakin’ incredible by itself. Unlike the Sony 900, the touchscreen sensor (Wacom)is behind the e-ink screen so it’s as readable as the Kindle 2 (actually a bit better, IMO). It reads ePub, including ADE (Adobe) DRM, so pretty much any book out there in ebook form can be obtained from one source or another. (Not locked into just one DRM-locked retailer.) Also it can be operated comfortably in one hand, though it does have to be the left hand and I wish there was a page turn button on the right. There are very few things you can’t do one-handed with the flip bar and menu button. The stylus is easier for many things, but only absolutely required for a few functions like the on-screen keyboard.

    This iRex certainly isn’t for everyone. If you need dictionary look-up or a cheaper price, forget it (maybe some day); if you want good PDF support, better 3G wireless online shopping, annotation, and a few other things you should wait until the April firmware update before deciding.

    Different strokes and all. Know what you want and need before shopping, I say.

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