eBook Pricing For What It’s Worth
January 30, 2008
One of the noted customer complaints lately has been ePublisher’s pricing coming closer to the amount paid for paperbacks. Read more
Tags: eAuthors, eBooks, ePublishers, pricingClinch Cover Conservation
January 12, 2008
Anyone who has seen me comment before knows I have absolutely nothing against the “Clinch Cover”, in fact I love the “Clinch Cover”. Read more
All I Wanted For Christmas Was…
December 30, 2007
Guess what I got for Christmas yesterday! Read more
The Future Now: Panasonic Wordsgear
December 14, 2007
Here is a glimpse of the shape of things to come. Panasonic has introduced a full color 5.6 Inch Super VGA (1024×600 211 PixelsPerInch) PDF reader. Plays movies and music and Adobe PDF eBooks. You turn the pages using the rubber button on the side. Like the Sony eReader this thing can use SD cards. With all this multi-functionality and color too with the current Japanese price it would translate to a relatively cheap US $350.00.
Unlike the Sony eReader the screen can be reversed easily for ease of use by both right handed and left handed readers. The Wordsgear measures 105mm X 152mm X 28.4mm (4.1 x 6.0 x 1.1 in.) and weighs 325g (0.71 lb.)
Right now there is only one English web site carrying it since it is only out in Japan and who by the way use a unique form of DRM’d PDF. So if you do not read Japanese Manga please wait. But… when this comes out goodbye Sony and so long Kindle.
Look, pretty silver case, single black rubber button, color screen!!!
A Good Question Deserves An Answer.
November 26, 2007
Zadia wrote… I am waiting to see how my favorite ebook writers respond to this gadget.
Thank you for the comment Zadia, and you made two very good points here in one line about the Amazon Kindle. It is a gadget, a $399.00 gadget that I can not whole heartedly endorse.
When all is said and done, it is currently a product that forces you into using Amazon’s DRM and Amazon’s hardware to read Amazon’s eBooks. Which is pretty limiting to me with it’s current price tag.
Would I buy a Kindle?
Sure, but I am a hard core gadget freak and I am willing to take chances on potential. Kindle is nothing but potential right now. They are taking the existing Mobipocket library and converting it over to a device that will allow you to buy any Mobipocket title from anywhere the Kindle can make the connection to the Internet from. That is some powerful stuff there. A eBook Reader with a built in delivery system is nothing to sneeze at.
But… There are still holes here. If I was Lora Leigh with a lot of books on Ellora’s Cave or a big author on Loose-Id I would be hounding their collective butts right about now on why they were not included in this enormous event for this new eBook platform.
The promotional capability of having your traditionally published books listed right along side your back list eBooks is what the Amazon Kindle is providing to the established eBook authors lucky enough to have had eBooks being offered on the Mobipocket Site and that is some powerful stuff indeed to have happened on the busiest store on the Net. Talk about making a big entrance with not much effort… There you go!
Anyway, that is really all politics and positioning and potential and not what a prudent practical minded person should buy into yet. If you worry about every penny then let the dust cloud settle and wait this one out if you can. The Amazon Kindle could be the greatest thing since sliced bread for eBooks and ePubs or a gigantic flop.
It is still too close to call yet.
If I wanted to buy an eBook reader that I did not consider strictly a gadget and that I knew was gonna be supported for a long time coming I would head over to Amazon.com and check out the PALM T/X currently listed for about $257.00 and if you read my review you would know it is also wi-fi connected and reads Mobipocket, Adobe Reader, Palm eReader. Which gives you three DRM choices to buy eBooks in and I highly recommend it if you can handle it’s screen size. If you are really diligent remember they are found at Walmart and you know those local sales there.
If I was really truly really EVIL… And you know I am. If I worked for say Samhain, I would see what wholesale actually is on a load of Palm T/X’s because there are HUGE discounts for businesses buying these things in bulk and I would sell them at cost on their website.
Why? Because, it’s all about the eBooks and I am The VEPB!
There is my personal endorsement for the holiday season all wrapped up for you.
Happy eBook Reading!
Tags: Hacking eBooksAmazon Kindle eBooks Ahoy!
November 25, 2007
My bad! I figured out all the weirdness and oddities on what Amazon is offering as far as eBooks from ePubs on the Kindle eBook Listings. Seems they are converting from the Mobipocket site on the fly. Spotty sometimes inaccurate author listings and all.
Tags: Hacking eBooksTeddypig Hacks An eBook: Winter 2007 ~ An eBook Reader Review
November 17, 2007
I knew it would come to this. It’s OK, I understand. Just let it out honey it will be alright. So let me guess. You decided to go looking at eBook Readers and got abused again. Hey, we have all been there. “So what does the Teddy Pig recommend?” you ask while drying the tears from your eyes and checking around for something to smack me with. Well…
First do yourself a favor and checkout sites like MobileRead and their eBook Reader Matrix which is the shit. Or… You can hang out here while I do my little soft shoe routine and show you how easy it is to decipher the crap they try and sell you when looking at these dogs with fleas.
So on with the show!
Name: iRex iLiad
Reading Size: 8.1 inch screen Gray Scale
Price: $699.00
DRM eBook Format: Mobipocket
Has Wi-fi
Name: Bookeen Cybook
Reading Size: 6 inch screen Gray Scale
Price: $350.00
DRM eBook Format: Mobipocket
Name: Amazon Kindle
Reading Size: 6 inch screen Gray Scale
Price: $400.00
DRM eBook Format: *Kindle Proprietary* Mobipocket
Has wi-fi
So first off I just wanted to group these three together. Why? Simple, because they are basically Gray Scale and Linux based and do one thing. They all support only one DRM: Mobipocket. You buy one of these and that’s all you are getting as of today is a stupid Mobipocket Reader.
See, I do not listen to promises. People promise you anything to get you to buy junk and then they head out the first time they are asked to cough up the goods. So the over priced iLiad looks good with it’s list of promises about what it could do but I ask a simple question “What does it do today?”
The answer to that question is that it does the exact same thing as any of the smaller eBook Readers in this category do, or in the case of the Amazon Kindle, promises they will do.
See just more promises. Listen, you want an eBook reader then do what I do and look at the bottom line…
What mainstream DRM Formats do they support as of today?
Name: eBookwise 1150
Reading Size: 5.5 inch screen Gray Scale
Price: $109.95
DRM eBook Format: IMP
Name: Sony PRS-505
Reading Size: 6 inch screen Gray Scale
Price: $299.99
DRM eBook Format: BBeB
Now you might be sitting there saying Teddy Pig “Why do you group these together?”
Because this is some funny ass shit. Big old Sony is basically pulling a Fictionwise. Both are running websites that sell eBooks and both are providing their own proprietary DRM format eBook Reader.
Now who do I trust here to provide support in the long run? Remember Betamax? Remember the Sony Clie?
So for the cheap price, for the support and for the simple fact they have been doing this for a while I would lay the money down for the eBookwise before taking a chance on a more expensive one trick Sony gadget that, if you notice, does not have a Sony VAIO tag on it. That is a dead giveaway to me what will eventually happen to the Sony eBook Reader when they get tired of throwing money at the publishers to support their DRM Format.
SUCKERS! Yeah, I bought a Sony PSP too… Why? I still have no clue.
Name: Palm T/X
Reading Size: 4 inch screen Color
Price: $282.54
DRM eBook Format: Mobipocket, Adobe Reader, Palm eReader
Has wi-fi
Ah, now we are getting into things that make sense to the gadget minded pig. This is a Palm. Everyone knows what a Palm is and everyone has played with these before. It supports both Mac and Windows for its sync program. It is now in color with the introduction of the Palm T/X. There simply is no surprises with the Palm and it supports Three DRM Formats. Mobipocket, Adobe Reader, two of the most stable, well known, fully supported and easily bought eBook DRM Formats today and Palm’s own eReader to boot.
I say with all that going on this is actually an eBook Reader that calls itself a PDA. Hell, this is such a run-of-the-mill, no brainer purchase, you can run down to your local Walmart and buy one of these things and be using it in seconds. Palm does not make false promises, they simply continue to provide executives across the globe with pocket toys. Get it? Executives… No Brainer? *heh* Solid bland old Palm is probably a better bet than a Sony eReader since just about every Fortune 500 company I have worked at hands these Palms out like candy. I always trust there will be tons of third party support for a business related product for a long time to come.
Name: HP iPAQ 211
Reading Size: 4 inch screen Color
Price: $449.99
DRM eBook Format: Palm eReader, Mobipocket, Adobe Reader, Microsoft Reader
Has wi-fi
Jeez, getting a little more expensive. This iPAQ is still $250.00 less than a iRex iLiad! Are you figuring out that a lot of these eBook Readers are sold to people who are a little lost in the shuffle? Why get a one trick pony when you can have one of these jumping through any hoop you buy? Let the Geeks with lots of money play in the shallow end of the pool. So here you get color, plus wi-fi, plus the damn thing supports 4 major DRM Formats. It’s almost a sure bet that any eBook you want will be available to be purchased and read on this Windows CE running iPAQ. Thanks HP!
Name: Sony VAIO UX280P - VAIO® UX
Reading Size: 4.5 inch screen High Resolution LCD 120DPI
Price: $1094.00
DRM eBook Format: ALL eBook DRM Formats and ALL eReaders on Windows XP SP2
Has EVERYTHING!
So here is the end of our tour folks and I’ll just sit right here and drool over this baby. See, when I look for gadgets I like going all the way and this is alllll the way. 48 GIGS of solid state memory storage running on a 1GHZ chip with 1GIG of on-board memory and a LCD screen that can pull off 120DPI without breaking a sweat *talk dirty to me daddy*. All that jargon should tell you this thing is tech speak for REALLY GREAT SEX. It even comes with a dock station that you can hook a full size monitor and keyboard to and use it just like a laptop. In fact look it has the Sony VAIO tag on it so Sony will support this thing for a long long time.
Because baby it is what it is. A James Bond-like laptop, the size of a paperback like The Thorn Birds or Roots or The Stand, that fits in your purse. It can hold every eBook you have and let you download more to your hearts content anywhere you want to be. This thing is all about immediate, delicious, instant gratification while giving you stunning Mega-Tokyo eye candy. Try and top that for this price at Overstock.com Jane. Uh-huh, yeah, who’s your daddy now?
Think of it this way. It’s only $500.00 more than a stupid iRex iLiad.
So you ask “What does the Teddy Pig use?”
This is my hulking 12 inch *Sha-wing!* G3 iBook that I bought for $300.00 off Craigslist. Actually it is nice and small. I typed this whole article out for you on it and I read all my eBooks with it. Sure it does not support Microsoft Reader and a couple of other DRM Formats but hell, it was cheap and it does everything I want.
Without eye strain.
Listen I am not against buying toys. I bought an Apple iPhone, I bought a Sony Playstation 3 damn it! These are all extremely expensive risks. Some have surprised me with doing more than expected even after I got them. It’s just that in my mind the gadget either has to be so ground breaking (iPhone) it makes some sense or is so practical (PS3 + HiDef TV = Bluray DVD Player + Awesome Video Games) it sells itself.
That’s the point folks, this market is all over the place and it constantly changes with new promises of better functionality every day. The major problem I see is ancient DOS level-like functionality (Displaying a text file) and hardware (Crappy gray scale eInk screens) being thrown together on freebie Operating Systems with some hybrid DRM no one else supports and sold at Snake Oil prices. So know all your options and make your choices carefully and above all else…
Happy eBook Reading!
Tags: eBook ToolsA Letter To Steve Jobs
July 22, 2007
Dear Steve,
I am sorry to bother you but I have sent several requests through the various channels at Apple and I figured ‘hey, why not do what I do best?’ and Blog a letter to the “GO TO” guy at the company I love. The one guy at Apple I know from watching all your various presentations on YouTube, knows how to use the internet effectively.
So Steve, to begin, I love my iPhone. I splurged and went and bought the top of the line 8 gig model with all the excitement I had when I bought my first Apple IIe. Yes Steve, I have supported you and your company for a long long time.
But… I have noticed as a person now writing eBooks with my partner that someone forgot to do two really very important things on the iPhone that would be so simple to fix quickly and easily. Can I request those two functions from you? They will only take a limited amount of effort I promise.
1) Put Adobe Reader on the iPhone. With only one change in order to use it better… let it work in the landscape mode like the internet browser. This way I can read the eBooks I have purchased in comfort. I look forward to the day iTunes will sell PDF files (eBooks) especially the ones I write but I know that is a much larger task for you.
2) Allow iTunes to copy over my PDF files (eBooks) I keep in a playlist in iTunes on my eMac and put them in iTunes on my iPhone to be opened by that Adobe Reader we were just talking about. You showed real brilliance for allowing me to use iTunes as a library for PDF files (eBooks) on my eMac. I would like to see this ability copied to my iPhone.
Those are the only two things I really can think of that would make my iPhone priceless to me.
Thank you for your time Mr. Jobs and Good Work on the iPhone.
A happy Apple customer,
TeddyPig
iPhone For eBooks ~ A Review
July 2, 2007
Dang I spent all this time writing a review for iPhone using eBooks and it is gone…
Strange, OK I am at work but lucky I have my camera so here we go again.
I just bought this thing Friday but the first thing I want to do with my iPhone was try and read a PDF file. I was successful but there are certain things you should know before purchasing an iPhone for this use.
Apple has locked the iPhone down. It currently accepts only files from programs like iTunes and iPhoto and iCal and your contacts from Yahoo etc etc. The great thing is the eMail which can be setup to use Gmail.
So that my good readers is how I got the PDFs to the iPhone. I eMailed them to my self. I am sure very quickly here they will open the SDK up to third party developers but I expect it will take a little time before this is fixed. Maybe the hackers out there will fix this quicker than that.
As you can see here once you receive the PDF files in email the iPhone identifies them and shows you it can display them. So here you have it the iPhone supports PDF files.
There is the front cover of a pretty eBook on your iPhone. Crystal clear and very sharp. The screen brightness adjusts itself to the type of light you are viewing it in. This is a killer app.
Now here is the fly in the ointment. The default view of the PDF has a very small font size and unlike videos and the internet application you can not flip the phone to show you the PDF in wide screen which would make the font much more readable. I hope they add an Adobe Reader and the ability to flip the screen soon here. When that is done the iPhone will be a full blown eBook Reader for the smart shopper.
All is not lost though folks. The iPhone does allow you to zoom into the PDF on the screen thus allowing the font to become readable the only issue is that you will then have to use your finger to move the page so that you can read the eBook. Not a good solution for normal use but it can be workable.
So in summary the iPhone makes calls, shows videos and plays music not to mention it gives you internet access and in a pinch it even lets you read PDFs but it is not fully functioning as an eBook Reader YET.
The facts are Adobe has a reader already built for OSX which is what is running under the pretty buttons on an iPhone in all it’s glory and I am sure they can easily adapt their existing Reader to the iPhone. So that means this issue can easily be resolved in the coming months.
I think this does mean the end of the single function expensive eBook Readers. The iPhone is powerful, sleek, sexy, and from what I have shown you here is fully capable of doing the very simple task of acting as an eBook Reader without much effort. It’s only a matter of time.
Tags: eBook Tools, iTunes
