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calimae:

thekindlemonologues:

calimae:

Popular e-Book Formats & Readers

Kindles also read .TXT and .Doc formats. Perhaps not super popular, but worth knowing.

And if you’re prepared to “tinker” with the Firmware? They’ll also read epubs. Granted not DRM protected epubs, but regular DRM free epubs? They work a charm.

[I’d also argue that the Kobo ecosystem being missing is strange, as I’m sure their marketshare is higher than that of Windows 7 / Phone.]

Some notes on the graphic I just posted (as a non-user of ereaders, I can’t speak to the accuracy of the graphic or the comments).

(Source: twitter.com)

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pewinternet:

Chart of the week: A Snapshot of E-reader and Tablet Owners

The number of Americans owning either a tablet or e-reader is now 29%. Take a look at who owns them: for example, 41% of e-reader owners are male and 58% are female.

Full infographic

More: http://pewinternet.org/Reports/2012/E-readers-and-tablets.aspx

O’Reilly to Host First Ever eReader Petting Zoo at TOC 2012 - eBookNewser

If you haven’t made plans to attend the Tools of Change Conference, which is coming up in another few weeks, be prepared to drool with envy. O’Reilly will be having an eReader petting zoo on the last day of the conference, and we already have a couple dozen devices waiting to go on display.

[…]

The critter list covers most of the major US eReader makers (Sony, Amazon, B&N, Kobo), as well as Apple, and several smaller tablet manufacturers. We also have commitments for some lesser known devices including the new Ectaco Jetbook Color, Kyobo Mirasol eReader, iriver Story HD. And there’s going to be an Endangered Species table (space permitting) with an HP TouchPad, RIM Playbook, and eReaders as old as the Sony Data Discman.

Read more…

A new report from Pew Internet finds that tablet and e-reader ownership nearly doubled over the holiday gift-giving period, from 10% of adults in December to 19% in January for each device. Overall, almost one in three American adults (29%) currently own at least one of these devices.

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Barnes & Noble offers discounted Nooks with one-year subscription to The New York Times

On Mediabistro: So What Do You Do, Joshua Tallent, eBook Formatting Expert?

From the interview:

Book publishers are not always known for the technical savvy. It doesn’t help that the main eBook retailers don’t all conform to one standard eBook format, and they have to create different files for different bookstores.

It is not a single format to rule them all. Most publishers are starting to figure out that this is a big deal. They want to put out eBooks and have it not be frustrating. A consumer says I want an eBook; I go to Amazon or Barnes & Noble or Apple and then read it that way. Amazon is 70 percent of the eBook market because they are doing it well. They make it easy for consumers. Barnes & Noble holds second place because they focus on the customer experience. That is what is going to sell eBooks. Kindle and ePub will be the main formats because of this. It’s only when you get into children’s books and enhanced eBooks that other formats come into play.

These special formats read better on tablets. How do tablets change the landscape for the e-reading experience?

There is a lot of hype around tablets, but I still think that a black and white e-reader is the best device to read a book. I don’t think there is a comparison between e-readers and tablets. They are different things; I don’t equate the two. I have an iPad, but I don’t use it for reading that often. Most of the time I use it for other kinds of things like watching videos, surfing the Web and playing video games. Tablets have the benefit of being multimedia devices, but they aren’t the best way to read eBooks. Dedicated e-reading devices are a better experience for reading, and they lead to greater consumption of eBooks.

Read more…

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For the last six months, three orangutans at the Milwaukee County Zoo have had the pleasure of playing with a donated iPad a couple times a week, and guess what: They love it.

“We show them the iPad, and read them stories or let them have different apps,” said Jan Rafert, curator of primates and small mammals at the zoo. “We don’t let them hold them, but they can do some of the paint apps by sticking their fingers through the mesh.”

The orangutan iPad program, known as Apps for Apes, was started after the gorilla keeper at the zoo mentioned on her Facebook page that she’d like to get some iPads for her gorillas to play with, Rafert explained. It was kind of a joke, but a zoo volunteer took it seriously and donated a used iPad to the zoo. It turned out that the gorillas didn’t really enjoy the iPad — “they are more stoic,” said Rafert — but the orangutans went wild.

Read more: Orangutans go ape for iPads, gorillas not so much

OverDrive Announces Ebook Device 'Test Drive' Program for Libraries →

readingstuffregularly:

“OverDrive announced Test Drive, a program for libraries to support demonstration and lending of ebook reading devices and tablets to their patrons. The program includes device recommendations and guidelines for setup, maintenance, and support, as well as best practices for institutions that want to stock and lend ebook readers and tablets to patrons.”

"One of the most interesting things about this [digital] environment to me is that no one has yet come up with a playbook. Everybody’s trying to experiment in interesting ways; everybody’s trying to understand what the new media ecology looks like and how it can serve them. It’s a hard world to figure out."

—Lee Rainie, Director of the Pew Internet Project, quoted in What do Americans want from their libraries? Here’s our chance to find out

For years researchers at the Pew Internet & American Life Project have been tracking changes in our information ecosystem. Now they’ll be looking at the habits and expectations of library users—and nonusers. [next libraries]

How to participate in our new study:

There are two ways to get involved in the Pew Internet Project’s research on American libraries.

1. For the first phase of the study, which will begin in the next few months, Rainie will need to identify people who use ebook readers and tablets in libraries. Participants will be asked about their reading habits, how they use their ereaders with library materials, and what the experience is like for them. If you know of ebook-reading patrons who would be willing to participate, contact Rainie at lrainie [at] pewinternet [dot] org.
2. For the second phase of the study, which will happen in mid- to late 2012, the Pew Internet Project will be surveying both librarians and community members about library services. Rainie wants to hear from a diverse set of librarians about services they’re now offering, services they’re contemplating, and services they may be seeing less demand for. If you’re a librarian who would like to participate, contact Rainie at lrainie [at] pewinternet [dot] org.

(via pewinternet)

(via pewinternet)

Nook Tablet vs. the competition →

nschaden:

[…]

I found this comparison chart from The Verge the most helpful single piece of info out there: just the basics of the new Nook vs. the iPad, Fire, and other tablets.

Agreed!