back to article Apple's alleged Kindle-crusher set for spring release?

Apple's alleged Kindle-killing tablet appears to be on the runway for a spring 2010 takeoff. And in what may or may not be related news, two top-drawer US publishers are holding back ebooks of dozens of their upcoming major titles until the same time frame. According to one analyst's "supply chain sources," mass production of …

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  1. Craig 2

    Keep It Simple

    I'm all for technology convergence, but I think book readers should really be kept simple. Desired features are: Readability, battery life, portability, ruggedness, storage, low price.

    Something similar to a Nintendo DS but with full-size e-ink screens would be a great format for a book reader (ie. Clamshell, 2 screens, held as you would hold a book)

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    Lo? (!)

    Lo is this a 21st century I see before me?

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Coat

    iPorn Mags

    can't wait for the full colour porn mags app

    i'll get my coat

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Sunlight

    What is the use of an e-book reader that you can't read in sunlight? e-ink screens are ideal in this situation as well as not requiring power to keep them readable.

    It appears that this is something like a jumped up photo frame because it will need access to a power point at frequent intervals.

    I would love something such as Craig2 describes - there you would have a real e-book.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    THAT is a state secret!

    "Karl "Turd Blossom" Rove"

    How did you learn his true name? Out with it!

    (Had to think - should it be the black helicopter or the joke alert?... went with PH cause she does not have any secrets.)

  6. stuartnz
    Badgers

    Where's the Courier?

    3 months ago (alleged) snaps of the Courier turn up online, with spec.s Surely this puts that interesting looking device ahead in the vaporware race, but after that brief blip, it vanishes from online media consciousness and the only thing we here about is the still putative Apple Grail. With any luck this obsessive fixation on all things (real or imagined) Cupertino might mean that the Courier will end up nice and cheap.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    No EPD? No use!

    Yes, those EPD panels are slow, and no, they're not exactly colourful.

    They have two massive advantages though, insignificant power consumption, and daylight readability.

    Without the advantages of EPD you may as well read it on a laptop as you'll need that power socket anyway...

  8. Christopher Martin
    Jobs Halo

    Can we call it the Jesus Book...

    ... or has that name already been taken by something?

  9. Antidisestablishmentarianist

    LCD and EPD?

    Wasn't there an outfit making laptops with both an LCD and EPD display, sitting on top of each other (with a transparent LCD on top)? It was designed for lighting/power issues as described above. That tech in a tablet would be pretty sweet. Switch to LCD for the full razz, switch to EPD for just 'reading'.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      @ Antidisestablishmentarianist

      You're thinking of Pixel Qi who have demoed a screen but haven't begun production just yet.

      And yes, it is an awesome idea.

      http://pixelqi.com/products

  10. John 62

    I'll get one...

    If I can read Charles Fort's 'Lo!' on it

  11. Jellyjazz
    Thumb Up

    NetBook killer also?

    If it has the same range of apps as the touch/iPhone, wifi, and a decent storage, I can see it eating into the netbook market, and making an incredible mobile storage multimedia device.

    It will be great as an extended viewing device for photographers, journalists and other media types too.

    I can imagine doctors using these connected to various devices, soldiers on the field etc.

    These are technologically exciting times, anything that pushes the boundaries is welcome in my eyes.

  12. Tony Smith, Editor, Reg Hardware (Written by Reg staff)

    Re: NetBook killer also?

    The key word you use is 'viewing'. I know Intel and PC vendors like to insist that netbooks are solely for viewing content, but rather a lot of us journos use them for creating too.

    I wrote stacks of CES 2008 stories and edited pictures on an Eee PC 701. Tricky, yes, but I did it, and it sure beat lugging a 15in laptop (my main machine at the time) around.

    Apple's tablet may work well - especially if equipped with updated Newton tech - for taking notes, but I very much doubt it'll do Gimp/Photoshop.

    Netbook killer? Nah.

    1. frank ly

      As a side issue....

      .....for £20, I bought a PC-Line wireless keyboard and optical mouse from PC-World; it connects to my Eee PC via a little USB dongle and is fantastic for ease of use on long sessions. The keyboard may not be the sort of thing you'd like to lug around with you, but to have that optical wireless mouse for web-surfing and for photo viewing/editing is much better that using the Eee trackpad.

      I thoroughly recommend you get one.

    2. Adam T

      lots of possible applications...but...

      Would be very cool for mobile audio / video work. A touchscreen EQ/Mixer/MIO Controller.

      Of course Apple want to audit your life before letting you develop accessories for the iPhone's USB connector. Here's hoping they have the sense to include a normal USB port (so unlikely).

  13. richard 69

    here we go again...

    how is an 'ebook magazine' so much different to a website? ie. whats the bloody point?

    i actually like a magazine to be....a magazine...made of shiny paper with interesting layouts and nice glossy pics.....not a fecking webpage....they are totally different things....

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    Eh

    I have zero, nada, zilch interest in whatever overpriced, shiny tat Apple bring to the market. I already have an Astak ereader which is absolutely superb and does exactly what I want, i.e. stores lots of books relatively cheaply thus letting me clear out all the dead trees cluttering up my house. It is superbly portable, brilliant to read on and has fantastic battery life.

    For everything else I have my Toshiba U820 and a proper laptop, both of which run Linux. I usually buy only ebooks which have no DRM because I utterly despise it.

    Note that many publishers are already going down the same lunatic road of regional restrictions, drm and the like that caused music piracy. Also note that many ebooks are NOT cheaper than the hardback or even paperbook equivalents. I suggest the mobileread.com forums for anyone interested in ebooks.

    1. Tom Maddox Silver badge
      Flame

      That's that, then

      An anonymous poster (and a furry-toothed Linux geek, at that) on a tech comment board has expressed his disinterest in a product. Time for Apple to shut down production!

  15. Jason Yau
    Jobs Halo

    I hope

    it can be used as a giant iPod touch.

  16. Blubster
    Go

    Why not

    just buy a PDA which may work out cheaper? In addition to all of the other usual functions, calendar, spreadsheet, outlook, and mp3 player etc. my HP model has e-book reader installed so I can download and read as many free e-books as I like.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    eBook pricing

    'S&S and Hachette, to be sure, are motivated primarily by the fact that ebooks command much lower prices than hardcovers'

    Guess they haven't looked in the Waterstone's store where eBooks are regularly more than the same hardback from either Waterstones or Amazon. The companies claim this is because eBooks attract VAT, but I reckon it's called 'blatant profiteering' in anyone else's language.

  18. Fred Flintstone Gold badge

    @ iPorn Mags & Netbook killer

    First off, I think the iPad would beat porn mags as your tongue won't get stuck in the staples..

    That said, the ONLY problem that prevents an iPad from becoming an Netbook killer is the keyboard - that is *always* the problem with input, handwriting only goes so far.

    However, there's no reason that what worked for even for Palm can't work here too: external keyboards. What's more, if they install a sensible Bluetooth stack it could interface with all sorts of external keyboards, including that mad device called Laser Keyboard. Your battery life would suck, though.

    There's only one real challenge there: none of this stuff is made by Apple..

  19. Gaius
    FAIL

    E-ink

    The whole point of dedicated e-book readers is the paper-like e-ink screens.

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