As most people must know by now Amazon has made eBooks available on their Kindle models for the last several years. There’s a new kid in town: “Kindle Fire” and it’s only $199. How is it different?

Add those ebooks and eMagazines to Amazon’s 18 Million Movies, TV Shows, Songs, Apps, and Games in a one tablet. Bang! Kindle Fire!

Over 100,000 movies and TV shows from Amazon Instant Video, including thousands of new releases and popular TV shows, available to stream or download, purchase or rent – all just one tap away. Amazon Prime Members enjoy instant, unlimited, commercial-free streaming of over 11,000 movies and TV shows at no additional cost. Kindle Fire comes with one free month of Amazon Prime.
Over 17,000,000 songs from Amazon MP3, including new and bestselling albums from just $7.99 and individual songs from $0.69.
Over 1,000,000 Kindle books, including thousands of bestsellers, children’s books, comic books and cookbooks in rich color.
100 exclusive graphic novels, including Watchmen, the bestselling – and considered by many to be the greatest – graphic novel of all time, which has never before been available in digital format, as well as Batman: Arkham City, Superman: Earth OneGreen Lantern: Secret Origin and 96 others from DC Entertainment.
Hundreds of magazines and newspapers – including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, Wired, Elle, The New Yorker, Cosmopolitan and Martha Stewart Living – with full-color layouts, photographs, illustrations, built-in video, audio and other interactive features are available from the new Kindle Fire “Newsstand.” Kindle Fire customers will enjoy an exclusive free three-month trial to 17 Condé Nast magazines, including Vanity Fair, GQ and Glamour.
All the most popular Android apps and games, such as Angry Birds, Plants vs. Zombies, Cut the Rope and more. All apps are Amazon-tested on Kindle Fire to ensure quality and Amazon offers a new free paid app every day.

Cloud-Accelerated Web Browser – “Amazon Silk”

The Kindle Fire web browser Amazon Silk introduces a radical new paradigm – a “split browser” architecture that accelerates the power of the mobile device hardware by using the computing speed and power of the Amazon Web Services Cloud. The Silk browser software resides both on Kindle Fire and on the massive server fleet that comprises the Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (Amazon EC2). With each page request, Silk dynamically determines a division of labor between the mobile hardware and Amazon EC2 (i.e. which browser sub-components run where) that takes into consideration factors like network conditions, page complexity, and cached content. The result is a faster web browsing experience, and it’s available exclusively on Kindle Fire.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Simple and Easy-To-Use

Amazon designed the Kindle Fire user interface from the ground up to make it easier than ever to purchase, manage, and enjoy your digital content. Just like with Kindle e-readers, Kindle Fire comes automatically pre-registered to your Amazon.com account so you can immediately start enjoying your digital content purchased from Amazon or shop for new content. All of your digital content is instantly available to enjoy and manage with a simple, consistent experience across all content types.

Free Cloud Storage

Just like Kindle e-readers, Kindle Fire offers free storage for all your Amazon digital content in the Amazon Cloud. Amazon digital content is automatically backed up for free in the Amazon Cloud’s Worry-Free Archive where it’s available for re-downloading anytime.

Amazon Whispersync Now for Movies & TV Too

Just like Kindle e-readers, Kindle Fire uses Amazon’s popular Whispersync technology to automatically synchronize your Kindle library, last page read, bookmarks, notes, and highlights across the widest range of devices and platforms. With the introduction of Kindle Fire, Amazon is expanding this technology to include video. Start streaming a movie on your Kindle Fire, and when you get home, you can resume streaming right where you left off on your TV – avoid the frustration of needing to find your spot.

Easy to Hold in One Hand

Just like Kindle e-readers, Kindle Fire was designed to disappear so you can lose yourself in the content. Weighing in at just 14.6 ounces, Kindle Fire is small and light enough to hold in just one hand and carry everywhere you go. The lightweight, compact design makes Kindle Fire perfect for web browsing, playing games, reading and shopping on-the-go.

Brilliant Color Touchscreen

Content comes alive in rich color on a 7-inch full color LCD touchscreen that delivers 16 million colors in high resolution and 169 pixels per inch. Kindle Fire uses IPS (in-plane switching) technology – similar technology as used on the iPad, for an extra-wide viewing angle – perfect for sharing your screen with others. In addition, the Kindle Fire display is chemically strengthened to be 20 times stiffer and 30 times harder than plastic, which means it is incredibly durable and will stand up to accidental bumps and scrapes.

Fast, Powerful Dual-Core Processor

Kindle Fire features a state-of-the-art dual-core processor for fast, powerful performance. Stream music while browsing the web or read books while downloading videos.

Free Month of Amazon Prime

Right out of the box, Kindle Fire users will experience the benefits that millions of Amazon Prime members already enjoy – unlimited, commercial-free, instant streaming of over 11,000 movies and TV shows with Prime Instant Video and the convenience of Free Two-Day Shipping on millions of items from Amazon.com.

Only $199

The all-new Kindle Fire – with all the content, Amazon’s revolutionary cloud-accelerated browser, free storage in the Amazon Cloud, Whispersync, 14.6 ounce design that’s easy to hold with one hand, brilliant color touchscreen, and a fast and powerful dual core processor – is only $199. Customers in the U.S. can pre-order Kindle Fire starting today at www.amazon.com/kindlefire and it ships November 15.

Barnes & Noble Invites Customers to See for Themselves Why Critics Call NOOK™ Devices the Best Reading Devices on the Market

Barnes & Noble, Inc., the world’s largest bookseller, is inviting customers to experience what the critics and millions of customers are raving about: the company’s award-winning, bestselling line of NOOK reading devices. Beginning July 1, bring any eReader into a Barnes & Noble bookstore to compare and upgrade to a NOOK device and receive an instant NOOK Book collection – 30 free digital titles valued at $315. The limited-time NOOK upgrade program is offered with purchase of any popular NOOK device including The All-New NOOK and NOOK Color Reader’s Tablet™.

Beginning Friday, while supplies last, customers will receive a free, 2GB microSD card loaded with 30 NOOK Books – from cooking and lifestyle to classics and reference – when they show a bookseller their old device and purchase the NOOK reader that best suits them. Book lovers of all ages will love The All-New NOOK, The Simple Touch Reader™, which dozens of leading reviewers have praised as the best dedicated reading device on the market. The easy-to-use, ultra-light, portable 6-inch eReader features a simple, immersive experience with a full-touchscreen and the most-advanced E Ink® Pearl display, the longest battery life in the industry with an incredible two months on a single charge and the most social reading experience ever with NOOK Friends™ – all for just $139.

For customers who love to read everything in color with the added convenience of key tablet features, NOOK Color Reader’s Tablet offers what critics have proclaimed the best value on the tablet market at just $249. The award-winning device is sleek and portable, and features a stunning 7-inch color touchscreen ideal for reading a wide variety of content including books (some enhanced with in-page video), immersive children’s picture books with the exclusive AliveTouch™ technology, an expansive collection of full-color, interactive magazines plus newspapers, and more. NOOK Color now delivers customers’ most-requested tablet features with a wide selection of high-quality NOOK Apps™ to play, learn, organize and explore, built-in e-mail to stay connected, and an enhanced Web experience. Both NOOK devices connect via Wi-Fi® to Barnes & Noble’s expansive collection of more than two million digital books, periodicals and more, and offer customers access to even more free and exclusive content while visiting any of Barnes & Noble’s more than 700 bookstores.

“Both the All-New NOOK and NOOK Color Reader’s Tablet are best-in-class according to the industry’s leading reviewers and millions of devoted NOOK customers. We are confident that side-by-side comparisons with other eReaders will show NOOK products to be the superior choice,” said Jamie Iannone, President of Digital Products, Barnes & Noble. “We invite reading lovers to visit their neighborhood Barnes & Noble bookstore to see, hold and touch our innovative NOOK products and encourage them to upgrade their reading experience while kicking off their collection with a limited-time bonus of 30 free NOOK Books.”

 

The 30 digital books represent a variety of genres including Cooking, Kids, Classics, Humor, Lifestyle, Fiction, Sports, History, True Crime and Reference. Some of the free titles include: The Good Housekeeping Cookbook, Cristina Ferrare’s Big Bowl of Love, Creating Your Best Life, Glory in the Fall: The Greatest Moments in World Series History, 21st Century Crossword Puzzle Dictionary, My Boyfriend Wrote a Book About Me and timeless favorites including Secret Garden and Robinson Crusoe. Learn more about this program at nook.com/thebest.

About NOOK™ from Barnes & Noble
Barnes & Noble’s NOOK brand of eReading products makes it easy to read what you love, anywhere you like™ with a fun, easy-to-use and immersive digital reading experience. With NOOK, customers gain access to Barnes & Noble’s expansive NOOK Bookstore™ of more than two million digital titles, and the ability to enjoy content across a wide array of popular devices. The award-winning NOOK Color™ Reader’s Tablet™, the best-value on the tablet market ($249), features a stunning 7-inch VividView™ Color Touchscreen to read all of the content you love, shop popular apps, connect via e-mail, browse the Web and more. The All-New NOOK ($139), the Simple Touch Reader™, is the easiest-to-use 6-inch touch reader, with the longest battery life of any eReader. In Barnes & Noble stores, NOOK owners can access free Wi-Fi connectivity, enjoy the Read In Store™ feature to read NOOK Books™ for free, and the More In Store™ program, which offers free, exclusive content and special promotions. Barnes & Noble was the first company to offer digital lending for a wide selection of books through its LendMe® technology, available through NOOK eReading products. Find NOOK devices in Barnes & Noble stores and online at BN.com, as well as at Best Buy, Walmart, Staples and Books-A-Million.

In addition to NOOK devices, Barnes & Noble makes it easy for customers to enjoy any book, anytime, anywhere with its free line of NOOK software, available at bn.com/freenookapps. Customers can use Barnes & Noble’s free eReading software to access and read books from their personal Barnes & Noble digital library on devices including iPad™, iPhone®, iPod touch®, Android™ smartphones and tablets BlackBerry®, PC and Mac®. Lifetime Library™ helps ensure that Barnes & Noble customers will always be able to access their digital libraries on NOOK products and software-enabled devices and BN.com. Barnes & Noble also offers NOOK Study™ (nookstudy.com), an innovative study platform and software solution for higher education, NOOK Kids™ (nookkids.com), a collection of digital picture and chapter books for children, and NOOK Books en español™ (barnesandnoble.com/ebooksenespanol), the first-ever Spanish language digital bookstore in the United States.

For more information on NOOK devices and eReading software, updates, new NOOK Book releases, Free Friday™ NOOK Books and more, follow us on twitter.com/ebooksbn and facebook.com/nookbn.

As the first dedicated full-color touch electronic reader, the Nookcolor stands apart from black-and-white competitors like Amazon’s Kindle. The device can be used to read books, magazines, newspapers and an expanded array of children’s titles. It also takes hints from Apple Inc.’s iPad with more games, Web browsing, office applications, music streaming and its own application store. Like earlier versions, it runs on Google Inc.’s Android operating system. Without much effort the Nookcolor can also be seen as a complete tablet computer solution at an eReader price.

Barnes & Noble, which announced the product Tuesday, said it will begin taking orders for the device online and in stores on Wednesday and begins shipping in mid-November.

Nookcolor’s features include full-color display on the new 7-inch screen; earlier versions offer color only on the bottom half of a dual-screen. It is lightweight at about a pound, making it easy to grasp while holding a cup of coffee in the other hand, and its battery is estimated to last roughly 8 hours between charges.

Barnes & Noble also is offering more digital books for the Nook, including more than 12,000 new titles for kids.

At $249, the Nookcolor is $50 more expensive than the most expensive Nook on the market. It is also more expensive than Amazon’s Kindle, which retails for $139 to $189. But it costs much less than the iPad, which starts at $499, and that could entice consumers.  The Nook is also available at Best Buy and Walmart and soon Books-A-Million stores, along with Barnes & Noble stores on November 19th.

Features:

• 8.1 inches by 5 inches by .48 inches
• 7-inch VividView color touch screen (1,024×600 at 169 dpi)
• 15.8 ounces
• Built-in Wi-Fi
• Runs on Android 2.1 (upgradeable to 2.2 in 2011)
• Texas Instruments OMAP 3621 Processor
• 8GB of built-in memory, plus microSD expansion slot for adding more memory
• Supports PDF and ePub files, as well Word, Excel, and PowerPoint using included Quickoffice software
• Image files supported: JPG, PNG, GIF, and BMP files (use personal photos for wallpaper)
• Video playback via Android Media Player
• Sealed-in battery delivers eight hours of continuous reading time
• Pandora preloaded
• Web browser
• Barnes & Noble’s App Store will make available approved apps online
• Integrated social networking and LendMe apps

• OS: Android 2.2 Froyo
• Display: WSVGA (1024×00)
• Processor: Samsung S5PV210 (1GHz)
• RAM: 512M DDR2
• Storage: 2GB iNAND & 8GB SD

Other Cool Features:

5 megapixel camera, GPS, Bluetooth, 3G, WiFi, mini-HDMI, and an accelerometer.

More as it happens…

Let’s get the official specs out of the way:

• Full color TFT display
• 7” diagonal 800×600 screen
• Android 2.0
• 256MB RAM, 256MB internal storage
• Supports ePub, PDF, TXT, PDB, HTML reader files
• MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV audio support
• MPEG-4, H.264
• JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP image support
• 802.11 b/g wifi
• Li-Ion battery – up to 10+ hours of life, 24+ standby
• 4GB Bundled SD card
• Dimensions: 7.5″x 5.6″x .57″
• Weight: a bit less than 1lb

Now we can add to these. First off, as to be expected, this isn’t the powerhouse of tablets because it’s a eBook reader first and foremost. That said, it’s far more powerful than similarly priced imports. It’s processor (brand not specified) is just 523mhz … but (unlike the some recent import tablets) it comes with GPU acceleration so the processor isn’t having to do all the work. The GPU handles the graphics and video so in operation this feels like a Motorola Droid, or perhaps a Droid Eris, in processing speed, while the graphics display remains smooth and quick. We did test internet connectivity over the Wifi and it was very quick. Unlike the imports.

Secondly the touchscreen is a resistance touchscreen. Others speculated that it would be capacitive but at this price point that wasn’t likely. That said, the screen is more responsive than other resistance touchscreens we’ve tried and since this is a eBook reader it’s more than up to the tasks required of it. There are also no buttons on the screen. The usual four Android buttons are moved to the status bar – but work very well there. The display itself is a 7″ diagonal TFT display in a 4:3 aspect ratio.

The battery life, in testing, performs well doing 6 hours of continuous video playback. Reading gives 10 hours, in standby the device will hold a charge for 36 hours! If that’s not enough – no problem. The battery is user-replaceable and behind the back panel which is easily removed. Pop out the SD card, pull out with your finger in that slot, and the panel pops right off.

In the unit we tested there was a hidden feature that we hope is in the production unit (no promises) … the Reader’s internal memory was on a user-changeable micro-SD card. So the Cruz Reader actually has an expandable internal AND an expandable external memory card!

Around the edges of the Reader you’ll find volume controls, power button, headset jack, power jack, mini-USB port and a pair of stereo speakers. The whole Reader fits nicely in one hand like a small hardback, or trade paperback, book and feels exactly right.

Velocity Micro tells us that this was designed completely in-house by their engineers.  They also have big plans for their tablet line which begins with the Cruz Reader and the Cruz Tablet (we will cover the Tablet in the next week or two).  Check out our exclusive first-look gallery of pictures below and our video.

Price $199 MSRP

http://www.cruzreader.com/reader.php

This report was prepared by Kermit Woodall and Michael Prost – Video, Images and Text may be reproduced with proper attribution.

Click here to view the embedded video.

• LCD WiFi: $399
• LCD 3G: $499
• Pixel QI WiFi: $449
• Pixel QI 3G: $498

Once again, we have a device that is promising the new Tegra 2, at 10.1″, running Android, SIM slots, and USB ports.  The manufacturer is hoping to have the device submitted to the FCC by November, with a release date pending.

Just a short list of features and specs for the device from the Cruz website, and we’ll let you be on your way:

• Download and read over 2 Million ebooks in full color from the Borders book store
• Browse the web from any hotspot via integrated 802.11 b/g wifi
• Stay up to date with email and social networks, even while on the road
• Listen to your music collection on the go
• Download and watch full movies and other videos on a crystal clear 4:3 display – great for travel!
• Play games and install custom Android apps

• Crystal clear 4:3, 800×600 full color touch screen display – ideal for viewing ebooks and magazines, web pages, and movies
• Built in tilt activated accelerometer
• USB and SD card slot for upgradable storage, including a 2GB SD
• Built-in Dictionary, Notepad, Calendar, Alarm Clock, Contacts, Games, and other useful apps
• Access to over 2 Million ebooks via included Borders E-book library portal application
• Extended life, user replaceable battery
• 802.11b/g Wifi and full browser support
• Access to the Cruz Market™

• Full color TFT display
• 7” diagonal 800×600 screen
• Android 2.0
• 256MB RAM, 256MB internal storage
• Supports ePub, PDF, TXT, PDB, HTML reader files
• MP3, WMA, AAC, WAV audio support
• MPEG-4, H.264
• JPEG, GIF, PNG, BMP image support
• 802.11 b/g wifi
• Li-Ion battery – up to 10+ hours of life, 24+ standby
• 4GB Bundled SD card

Pandigital has partnered with Barnes & Noble, Inc. (NYSE: BKS), the world’s largest bookseller, to power the eBookstore on the Pandigital Novel eReader. Pandigital Novel customers will have easy access to Barnes & Noble’s expansive eBookstore catalog of more than one million eBooks, newspapers and magazines, a wide variety of free eBooks and more than half a million free classics. Seamlessly integrated into the Pandigital Novel interface, users will find that it is incredibly convenient and simple to browse, sample, buy, download in seconds and access digital content from the Barnes & Noble eBookstore, as well as from their personal Barnes & Noble digital library. Pandigital Novel customers will also be able to take advantage of advanced features including Barnes & Noble’s breakthrough LendMe™ technology which allows users to share many eBooks with friends and family for 14 days.

The Pandigital Novel 7-inch Color Multimedia eReader has a vibrant full color TFT LCD display that lets reading enthusiasts enjoy books and periodicals displayed in personalized bookshelves with full-color book covers and original color photos. The full-color 800 x 600 resolution and edge-to-edge glass screen also lets Pandigital customers thoroughly enjoy their digital photos in a virtual album as well as watch video on the go. The responsive touch-screen paired with an intuitive user interface is easy to navigate and control, so moving through applications, finding great digital content in the Barnes & Noble eBookstore, and browsing the web are all incredibly straightforward.

First and foremost, the Pandigital Novel eReader was designed to deliver a world-class e-reading experience,” said Dean Finnegan, CEO and founder, Pandigital. “By focusing on delivering superior content from Barnes & Noble, an easy-to-use design and an excellent customer experience, Pandigital is delivering a value proposition not currently available in the eReader category. With its many additional features, Pandigital Novel customers will be able to read what they want and do more of what they want on the go with an affordable product that is simple and fun to use.

“We’re proud to offer Pandigital Novel customers simple and integrated access to our vast Barnes & Noble eBookstore to help them discover and enjoy a wide array of eBooks and periodicals,” said Chris Peifer, Vice President of Business Development, Barnes & Noble.com. “Pandigital Novel users can easily access their existing Barnes & Noble digital content and enjoy sharing a wide variety of eBooks with friends through innovative LendMe technology – whether or not those friends have a dedicated eBook reader.”

Reading – Just More Fun
Designed with convenience features that help reading enthusiasts get the most out of their eBooks and periodicals, the Pandigital Novel lets customers, with a simple touch of the screen, search for word meanings using the built-in dictionary, review past references with word searches, and make notes with the virtual keyboard. In addition, customers can highlight important text, create multiple bookmarks, and change the font size for optimum viewing.

The Pandigital Novel 7-inch Color Multimedia eReader was designed to be enjoyed on the go; it features a compact, sleek design that measures 5.5” (w) x 7.5” (h) x 0.5” (d) and weighs only 16 ounces. Saving, storing, and transferring unlimited eBooks (as well as music, video, or image files) is easy with the full 1GB of memory that can house hundreds of books, as well as expandable storage provided by its SD/MMC memory card slot (supporting up to 32GB cards). Also, the Pandigital Novel provides a long battery life of up to six hours in reading mode thanks to its rechargeable lithium-ion battery.

Other usability features make it more convenient for reading in a range of environments. For example, the orientation sensor automatically adjusts between portrait and landscape mode when the device is tilted, while night-read mode inverts the text and background colors for more discrete viewing. Plus, the Pandigital Novel looks great in the home and on the go; it has a white chassis with a white stand for secure placement on a desk or table.

The new Pandigital Novel eReader supports a number of eBook formats including PDF, EPUB, and HTML, so customers that already have their own personal collection can still enjoy them. The built-in mini-USB port provides another option for easy transfer of files between the device and a computer (Mac and PC compatible).

Incredibly Useful All-in-One Device for Fun & Connectivity
The Pandigital Novel 7-inch Color Multimedia eReader lets consumers enjoy their favorite music, photos, and video wherever they go. When connected to the Internet utilizing the built-in Wi-Fi module and any home or public Wi-Fi hotspot, the Pandigital Novel also lets customers run a variety of connected applications. Using the powerful and flexible combination of the Android operating system and an ARM 11 Mobile processor, this Pandigital Novel has a built-in, full web browser so users can quickly go online to update social media sites and check out recent news, events and weather. The built-in email application lets customers conveniently stay in touch. Photo and video files are rich in color and detail, while the built-in audio player lets consumers enjoy their music from virtually anywhere. The Pandigital Novel 7-inch Color Multimedia eReader also has additional convenience features including a built-in appointment calendar and alarm clock.

Availability, Price and Warranty
The Pandigital Novel 7-inch Color Multimedia eReader (model number PRD07T10WWH7) is affordably priced at a Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price of $199.99 and is backed by a one year limited warranty. It will be available at several national retailers beginning in June.
Here are the devices key specifications:

• Operating system: Android (ARM 11 processor)
• 7-inch touch-screen TFT color display (800×600-pixel resolution)
• Weight: 16 ounces
• Integrated Barnes & Noble e-book store
• Wi-Fi enabled
• 1 GB internal memory with SD/MMC slot (supports up to 32GB cards)
• Automatically adjusts between portrait and landscape mode when the device is tilted
• e-book formats supported included PDF, EPUB, and HTML
• Adjustable font sizes, built-in dictionary, highlights, and notes
• Built-in Web browser, e-mail client, alarm clock, and calendar
• Plays back audio (MP3s), displays images and certain video file formats
• Built-in Mini-USB port for transferring files from computer (Mac and PC compatible)

FREMONT, Calif – January 7, 2010 – Spring Design and Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) today announced an agreement in principle to feature the upcoming Borders eBook store powered by Kobo on the new dual display Alex™ eReader later this year. The agreement in principle follows a recent announcement that Borders will launch a new eBook store on Borders.com as well as Borders-branded mobile eBook applications, powered by Kobo. The new Borders-branded eBook store will offer more than two million titles.

“The combination of Borders’ leadership in the book industry and Spring Design’s innovation and experience in consumer electronics will create a world class service for eBook readers,” said Dr. Priscilla Lu, chief executive officer of Spring Design. “This partnership delivers one of the critical foundations of our business growth going forward,” Lu added.

“Our agreement with Spring Design represents another step in our digital strategy, which continues to focus on offering book lovers-including our more than 35 million Borders Rewards loyalty program members-high quality content on the device of their choosing,” said Borders Group Chief Executive Officer Ron Marshall. “We look forward to bringing a world class eBook experience to Alex users.”

The Alex eReader will initially be available February 22, 2010 for $359 in the online store at www.springdesign.com.