E-book readers

I just came across Crimson's Pocket-eAzl, and while it isn't brand-new to the market (it's been out a few months), I thought I should give it a quick shout-out because it seems pretty nifty.

There isn't much to describe here because it's just an adjustable stand for your tablet or e-reader that folds up into a compact form factor that's pocket-friendly.

It comes in silver, black, or pink and retails for $39.95. Check out the video below.

Like the e-ink Kindles and iPads before it, Amazon's Kindle Fire tablet has launched a cottage industry of cases and covers.

In trying to boil down the best of what's currently out there, I decided to take a stand -- so to speak -- and select mostly cases and covers that convert into a stand.… Read more

As it did in the days leading up to Mother's Day, Barnes & Noble is chopping $20 off its Nook Simple Touch e-ink e-reader and the Nook Color tablet for Father's Day. The only catch is that you have to use a MasterCard credit card to get the discount.

Barnes & Noble has run a similar promotion with MasterCard in the past. You can now pick up the Nook Simple Touch for $79 and the Nook Color for $149. The sale runs until June 17 and is available in stores and online at BN.com. … Read more

Owners of the $79 Kindle take note: Amazon has started rolling out a new software update.

According to Amazon, here are the improvements and feature additions the new firmware (4.1.0) brings:… Read more

When Barnes & Noble launched a Nook e-reader with an integrated light last month, many speculated that it was only a matter of time before Amazon would release a new front-lit version of its monochrome Kindle e-ink e-reader. Well, according to an unnamed Reuter's source who's allegedly seen a prototype of the product, Amazon is aiming to have that new Kindle in stores by July.

Barnes & Noble's began shipping its $139 Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight at the end of April in time for Mother's Day. The e-reader received a CNET Editors' Choice and Barnes & Noble says that sales have been brisk. … Read more

A day after getting a $300 investment from Microsoft, Barnes & Noble is on the offensive again, chopping $20 off its Nook Simple Touch e-ink e-reader and the Nook Color tablet for Mother's Day.

You can now pick up the Nook Simple Touch for $79 and the Nook Color for $149. The sale runs until May 12 and Barnes & Noble will also throw in a free Nook gift bag with purchases of those devices (while supplies last). The bag doesn't look all that exciting, but hey, it's better than a plastic bag. … Read more

In the last couple of years Barnes & Noble has made some big inroads into the e-book market, cutting into Amazon's huge lead. As it stands, Amazon still has about 60 percent of the e-book pie, Barnes & Noble has around 25 percent, and Apple sits at around 15 percent, with smaller players like Sony, Google, and Kobo left to fight over the crumbs. Of course, those numbers are just estimates, and depending on who you talk to, Amazon's share might actually be closer to 65 percent.

While a strong second place is not a bad position to be in, the problem for Barnes & Noble has been how much it cost to get there and how much it's going to cost to pick up more market share from Amazon and Apple, which has steadily ramped up its iBooks digital reading platform and recently launched a major digital textbook initiative.… Read more

Science-fiction/fantasy publishing company Tor Books dropped a big bomb on the e-book world today by announcing plans to abolish DRM on its entire collection of e-books in early July.

The shift will most likely appear seamless to consumers, as an official blog post on the Tor Web site mentions that DRM-free titles will sell at the same retailers that currently sell Tor's books, and will additionally appear on DRM-free-only e-book stores. The Macmillan-owned company also publishes titles under Forge, Orb, Starscape, and Tor Teen. … Read more

With previous product launches, Barnes & Noble has made a habit of underpromising and overdelivering, so it's no surprise that it's shipping its new e-reader, the $139 Nook Simple Touch with GlowLight, a couple of weeks earlier than it previously said it would.

The company says that, "Beginning this week, ahead of schedule, Barnes & Noble will begin shipping units to customers who preordered the device" and that preorders will "ship throughout the month."

We have no way to know what Barnes & Noble's expectations for preorders were, but the company says it'… Read more