With “pure” PDA sales less than stellar, e-bookers have looked to multiuse cellphones and other gizmos for relief.
Could Intel be about to provide other hope in the form of a class of computers called Mobile Internet Devices and making use of a power-thrifty chip known as the Atom—intended to help offer “the best Internet experience in your pocket”?
Somewhat old news
This is somewhat old news, with 2007 reports having mentioned 4.5-6-inch screens and resolutions from 800 x 400 up to 1024 x 600 (old photo). In effect, we could be talking about the UMPC idea in new clothes, with the Atom making the difference in terms of battery life and computing power. You’ll get a laptop in little more than a PDA-sized package. This is hardly an iPhone-killer but offers consumers a great alternative, especially with the possibility of six inch screens and keyboards, the latter of which could be handy for word searches in e-books and maybe a little interactivity. Of course, let’s hope there are USB connections for regular keyboards.
RWA’s list of sites deemed violating the DMCA
Other items of interest, from Publishers Weekly:
- Romance Writers of America is making an anti-piracy push and telling members about a new list of sites it regards as offenders—a database intended to help RWA members search for their illegally reproduced titles. So what happens when consumers hear of the list? Will they use it as a (non)shopping guide? Please don’t. Remember, I’m linking to the the list only after RWA publicized it and PW pointed to it. In RWA’s shoes, I would tuck the list away behind a password. On the list, by the way, are some well-known companies such as Scribd and LiveJournal. For a 2005 study, researchers found 60,000-150,000 pirated books in just two weeks. Alas, DRM is expanding the demand for pirated titles, which people can use on their laptops, cellphones, PDAs and so on without the hassles of “protection.” Listen, if a book’s worth pirating, fans may even type in the text by hand. Time for the RWA to take on the DRM interests and opt for more consumer-friendly approaches such as Social DRM?
OnDemandBooks has forged an alliance with Lightning Source to obtain copyrighted titles from consenting publishers for its Espresso print on demand machines intended to be deployed at bookstores, libraries and other locations. Just seven Espresso machines are creating insta-books right now. But one of the people behind the company is Jason Epstein, a key player in the trade paperback revolution. You never knew, E fans. Smaller, cheaper models are on the way.
- Online retailers next year may overshadow chain stores as an outlet for book-buyers, says Gary Gabelhouse, CEO of Fairfield Research—all the more reason, as I see it, to closely watch Amazon (the largest company in the online space), especially as POD becomes more of a factor.
While MID’s are exciting, they are only now coming to market. However, MIDs and UMPCs are two different animals although both were announced around the same time.
UMPCs were supposed to be MIDs but something happened on the way to the manufacturing plant. UMPCs became way too expensive and underpowered as a “companion” device.
Now Intel has the opportunity to deliver MIDs at the below $500 price points UMPCs were supposed to be.
For e-reading, that could be a real boon since they will boast a color screen, and internet connectivity at (supposedly) a cheap price. If they can nail the UI, they could have a real hit. Which would be great for e-readers and e-reading.
But I agree, MIDs are the unspoken evolution of devices like the Dell Axim, Palm T/X and other PDAs.
I don’t know why every bookstore and library doesn’t have one of those Espresso POD gadgets. And if all of the big publishers were smart, they would jump at making a deal to offer all of their back titles on these machines.
I love ebooks, but sometimes you want a pbook. Being able to walk into a store or library and walk away with a freshly printed copy of something that otherwise wouldn’t be available (or special order) is a great idea.
“Romance Writers of America is making an anti-piracy push and telling members about a new list of sites it regards as offenders—a database intended to help RWA members search for their illegally reproduced titles. So what happens when consumers hear of the list? Will they use it as a (non)shopping guide? Please don’t.”
LOL. So a lot of people who have never heard of RapidShare or Megaupload are about to learn that’s the place to go to download their ebooks for free!!