Judging by the fact that our lovely planet is home to the Libretto W100, the Kno, Onkyo DX and oodles of prototypes that utilize twin panels rather than a panel and a keyboard, Sharp’s newest microchip is likely to draw some serious industry attention. Improving on an idea that began in 2008, the company has recently shown off a new chip (dubbed LR388G9) that can control two mobile LCDs and can simultaneously display a pair of different 1,024 x 480 pixel clips on a pair of screens; moreover, it can output full 1080p to any source connected via HDMI. Since ‘08, Sharp has increased memory capacity from 16Mbits to 32Mbits while boosting the image processing speed, and the company now intends to hawk this new guy to outfits who manufacture smartphones, e-readers, digital photo frames and even netbooks. If all goes well, the chip will ship within a 261-pin WFBGA package this September, with volume pricing pegged at around ¥2,400 ($27).

Looking for a no-frills alternative to the Kindle or Nook? For $150, you’ll probably find it in the Kobo eReader — now available for purchase at Borders, and shipping June 17th. Engadget went hands-on with Kobo in March and rather enjoyed the barebones aesthetic; though an early review cited long load times, we thought the 6-inch E Ink slate got the basics just about right. That’s just us, though — if you get it for Father’s Day as Borders clearly suggests, we’re not sure your picky old man will agree.

Fujitsu’s been dabbling in the color e-paper market for years, showing off prototype readers during a time when the iPad was simply a twinkle in the eye of Steve-o. Now, the e-reader realm as a whole is having to reevaluate itself with the explosion of multifaceted tablets, but we’re not giving up hope just yet — Qualcomm’s downright stunning color Mirasol display could turn the tables once more later this year, and Fujitsu’s new and improved color e-paper might do the same later this month. Scheduled to debut at the Fujitsu Forum in Japan, this newly developed color electronic paper utilizes a redesigned panel structure and image re-write methods, and there’s also an improved contrast ratio to boot. Unfortunately, there’s no public commercialization plans just yet, but we’re hoping it’ll hit a few products sooner rather than later — time’s a wastin’, Fujitsu!

Think Google is content to simply make public domain books freely available for e-book readers? Not quite — the company has just confirmed that its previously announced Google Editions e-book service will finally be launching in late June or July. That service will apparently let folks buy digital copies of books they find through Google’s existing book search service, and let book retailers sell Google Editions on their own site and retain the “bulk of the revenue.” Details are otherwise still pretty light, including any word of pricing or publishers involved, but Google has previously said that it planned to make between 400,000 and 600,000 books available with prices set by the publishers.

The guys and girls at engadget got their hands on the lates firmware upgrade from Barnes & Noble on their Nook. Read on their first impressions from the upgraded device:

Playing some Sudoku and reading Engadget on our Nook? Yeah, we are! Obviously, after hearing about the Nook 1.3 firmware update this morning, us bookworms nabbed the latest software to check out the added features. The over-the-air update took about a total of ten minutes from start to finish, and when the e-reader had restarted the new Games, Wi-Fi, Audio, and Web shortcuts were more than obvious on the main menu.

The browsing experience, which is clearly marked beta, is very similar to that on the Spring Design Alex — you input the address on the touchscreen and an expanded view of whatever site you’re visiting appears on the E-Ink display. You can use the LCD to navigate the page, though the physical page turn buttons work as well, which is actually a nice trick. It isn’t the fastest browsing experience, but it’ll definitely be useful for quickly reading some news or checking the weather when you are near a WiFi network – we got a page not found message over 3G.

Visit engadget’s photo gallery of the all new device Nook 1.3 browser and games hands-on

It looks like the 3D fad that has made it’s way to TVs and some notebooks might be making its way to netbooks, too thanks to Sharp, who introduced a new 10.6” widescreen 3D display last week that does not require special glasses and can work with a touchscreen. In addition to netbooks it is also suitable for e-book readers and tablets.

Whether we actually see such products with 3D displays remains to be seen. Browse the web in 3D? Sounds headache inducing….

Source: IT Media, Akihabara News via Netbook Choice

Entelligence is a column by technology strategist and author Michael Gartenberg, a man whose desire for a delicious cup of coffee and a quality New York bagel is dwarfed only by his passion for tech. In these articles, he’ll explore where our industry is and where it’s going — on both micro and macro levels — with the unique wit and insight only he can provide.

A few months ago, some videos leaked from Microsoft showed a book-like device with two touch screens and a stylus. The user is seen researching, creating and designing content in a manner that looks both intuitive and innovative. Called Courier, the product doesn’t (yet) exist beyond the conceptual videos, but it shows Microsoft is thinking in some new ways. Ross Rubin discussed Courier’s role for creative professionals last week but I think there’s even more at stake here — I think the concept shows computing models are evolving. Here’s what Courier represents to the market:

The pen isn’t dead. The pen’s been searching for a place in computing for more than a decade. We’ve seen experiments in all different types of pen computing from the PC to the PDA and the phone. They’ve all pretty much failed, and today’s hot commodity is capacitive touch. Microsoft’s Courier video shows how the pen can play a prominent role in the evolution of computing interfaces. While fingers are great for many things, there are tasks better served by the ability to manipulate at the pixel level. Handwriting and the ability to take written notes is one of them. Content creation and painting is another. It’s clear Microsoft knows all this — in addition to Courier, there’s the Deskterity project that melds pen and touch on Surface.

Microsoft can move beyond Windows. It wasn’t that long ago that Microsoft thought the UI for other devices and platforms needed to mimic Windows. Windows CE devices all had tiny start menus and task bars which were totally unusable in a small form factor. The result were clunky devices trying to replicate a desktop experience designed for a large screen with input from a mouse and keyboard. One of the reasons that Windows 7 slate PCs look so un-interesting is that Windows 7 just wasn’t designed with those devices in mind. The net result is that Microsoft appears to be designing and optimizing for the form factor. We’ve seen this before with Surface and the beginnings of a new design with Windows Phone 7. If Microsoft can make the Courier experience familiar enough that consumers can embrace it while optimizing for the dual displays and pen we could see a nice breakthrough in next generation UI.

Tablets aren’t just about content consumption. The Courier UI shows a lot of interaction between the user and the device for content creation. While designers are the example shown, Courier appears optimized for researching, note taking, journaling and other tasks that might require a combination of different media types interacting. As appliance computing becomes more common, users will need both the ability to consume as well as create and interact. Courier shows some new thought and how we might evolve beyond mouse and keyboard while still able to create and design.

The Courier video is impressive not only for technology it showcases but the thinking behind it. UI enhancements such as the “book spine” that holds content placed on the clipboard and the integration of connected content show some out-of-the-box thinking that’s refreshing to see from Redmond — it’s cool that Microsoft is thinking about life beyond Windows and what it might look like. I’m personally hoping that there’s more than just some conceptual animation and Microsoft is able to turn this set of ideas into a real product offering.

So, how much e-book reader can $149 get you? Well, Kobo’s eReader might not be heavy on the feature set, but based on the general impressions from Electronista’s review, we’d say quite a bit. In exchange for dropping the 3G, WiFi, color screen and audio playback frills of the Kindle and Nook, Kobo’s barebones device puts a pretty and intuitive face on simple book reading for a pretty lovable price. The biggest complaint hinges around some slow performance when closing and opening books, but with 100 pre-loaded titles and a fairly budget friendly online library, it seems like the device has you covered when it comes to actually reading things. We also covered Kobo in our iPad book and comics roundup, if more hardware isn’t your thing.

We ran through the seven mainstream iPad alternatives a few weeks ago. You should know the list anyway.  They include the usual suspects of the ModBook, Notion Ink Adam, HP Slate and Dell Streak along with a few others. But there are a bunch more portables either currently available or coming out real soon that could also have made that list. Consider the following seven computers alternatives to the standard iPad alternatives.

Spring Design Alex Ebook Reader

While the Alex is really an ereader first, it’s still capable of a lot more with Android running on a 3.5-inch color LCD under the 6-inch e-ink display. Since it’s Android, everything works as it should so it can browse the web, send emails, and access the Android Marketplace via Wi-Fi or 3G. But the real magic is that the two screens can be linked so that content on the small screen can be pushed up for easier viewing on the large screen. It also handles book navigation and selection. Think of it as a suped-up Nook and instead of B&N, there’s a partnership with Boarders but any ebook standard will work. Available in either black or white at $399 and the company is taking pre-orders right now with an expected shipping date of April 14.

Advantages over the iPad

• USB power charging
• User-replaceable battery
• Longer battery life with only the e-ink screen

Disadvantages

• Smaller screens
• Less storage

enTourage eDGe dualbook

One look at this thing and you can tell it’s something different. Two screens, combined with a hinge that also holds a speaker. It’s really not just an ereader with an Android netbook bolted on, either. It’s so much more and truly shows what the future of computer could hold for everyday joes, but more so for academia. Oh, and unlike the similar Microsoft Courier concept, this thing is real and available for $499 right now. Read our review here.

Advantages over the iPad

• More touchscreen real estate
• SD card slot
• 2 USB ports
• User-replaceable battery

Disadvantages

• No 3G
• Less storage

WePad

The WePad may be the most complete alternative to the iPad with Linux at the core and access to the Android Marketplace. It’s reportable going to be less expensive, as well, when it first its German retailers in the coming months.

Advantages over the iPad

• Webcam
• 2 USB ports
• WePad App Store + Android Marketplace
• Multitasking
• Works with all ebook formats
• Larger screen
• Flash support

Disadvantages

• None we can see

Lenovo Skylight Smartbook

Yes, it’s a netbook but give the Skylight a chance before scrolling down to the next iPad alternative. 10 hour battery life, 2 lbs weight, and a bright 10-inch screen are pretty standard noondays. But then throw in a 3G wireless into a thin and sleek package powered by a custom web interface and you have one tasty treat.

Advantages over the iPad

• Full keyboard
• USB ports
• SD card slot

Disadvantages

• Unproven OS (that’s a biggie)
• No touchscreen

Lenovo IdeaPad U1 Hybrid

It’s a tablet! No, it’s a netbook! No, it’s both! An Intel CULV processor handles Windows 7 while in netbook mode and an ARM CPU takes care of the Skylight OS when the tablet is all by itself. It packs 3G, 128GB SSD all in a design that’s truly the best of both worlds. The U1 Hybrid slated for a summer 2010 release. See it in action here.

Advantages over the iPad

• Windows 7
• Two-in-One design
• USB port
• SD card slot
• Larger screen

Disadvantages

• No access to the App Store
• It will probably be more expensive

ExoPC

It looks like an iPad, costs the same as an iPad, has similar tech specs as the iPad, but it isn’t made by Apple. The ExoPC might be the absolute best iPad alternative for Apple haters as long as they feel comfortable owning an obvious iPad clone. The ExoPC is supposed to be released sometime this spring.

Advantages over the iPad

• SD card slot
• User-replaceable battery
• Supports Flash and Silverlight
• Wireless and wired networking
• Windows 7
• 3 USB ports

Disadvantages

• No access to the App Store
• Shorter battery life at 4 hours

Your smartphone

And finally, your smartphone should really be considered an iPad alternative. Think about what the iPad can do and then compare it against your current phone. It could be a Palm Pre, Droid, HD2, or even iPhone. You can surf the web on these phones, edit photos, read sheet music, play electronic instruments, read comics, watch TV shows, play racing games and the list goes on and on and on. Sure, the iPad has that massive screen to further exploit those apps, but most of the functions are the same.

Seiko’s been doing the whole E-Ink wristwatch thing for years now, but the vast majority of ‘em could really only be viewed when looking directly down onto the so-called dial. The appropriately named “Future Now” EPD watch aims to change all that, with an “active matrix” E-Ink display that allows for the same 180 degrees of visibility that you’ve come to expect in the average LCD panel. The all-black watch made its debut at Basel World 2010, boasting a grand total of 80,000 pixels, each of which are capable of displaying four shades of grey. Seiko’s also trumpeting the achievements in power reduction, though we aren’t informed of exactly how long this thing can shuffle minutes away before needing a recharge. Either way, we couldn’t be more anxious to see this gem hit store shelves — hop on past the break for a quick look at exactly what we mean.
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Billed as an iPad competitor, the WePad is not vaporware, but is in fact, The Chosen One. At least, that’s the view of some , who are hailing the WePad as the saviour of the German print publishing industry.

While Apple is still racing to the wire to secure enough media content partnerships for the iPad before its launch this week, the WePad has already bagged Europe’s biggest publisher , Gruner + Jahr.

Read the rest of this entry »

It’s no Kindle, but at $149 the Aluratek eBook Reader Pro is a pretty interesting device. It comes with a 2GB card and includes 100 public domain books including Wuthering Heights and The Bible. It works with PDFs, ePubs, and Mobi files along with standard text files. The whole thing works quite well and it’s a nice, small size, especially for an inexpensive e-reader. It’s definitely a no-frills ereader solution but it may be good for folks who find ebooks online and not through the Kindle store.

Prime View International — the company responsible for pumping e-ink screens into Amazon’s Kindles — has recently shown off some color and video screens at a trade show in Shenzhen, China. The company has been showing off the displays in 6 and 9.7-inch varieties, one of which could fit perfectly into the 6-inch Kindle, of course. While there’s been no real indication that Amazon is interested in transitioning to color or video-boasting readers, but it’s not completely inconceivable considering the recent competition it’s facing. Hit the source link to check out a video featuring the color displays that were on show.

We’ve seen so many e-book readers of late that it’s difficult to get excited about another, but Kobo’s angle here might just make the Kobo eReader worth a look. Kobo’s game is ecosystem, and in fact it doesn’t plan on making a big splash in the actual e-reader market, since it’s primarily about building branded software and delivering branded e-book stores for others, including manufacturers (like Plastic Logic), and booksellers (like Borders). Still, the 6-inch E Ink reader is fine hardware in its own right, with quality plastics throughout, a nice patterned rubber back, and a big friendly d-pad for paging through books. The device is actually laid out to mitigate accidental button presses — even the menu buttons labelled on the front are actually located on the side of the device. As far as software and capabilities, the device is utterly barebones, but at least it keeps its aesthetics throughout, and everything seems responsive and intuitive. There’s no 3G onboard (you sync your e-pub titles with a desktop app over USB), no specific word on storage (our guess is in the 1GB to 4GB range), and there don’t seem to be any other activities available to reading books. Hopefully you’re into that sort of thing, and Kobo at least pre-loaded 100 public domain titles to get you started. The unit will be sold at Borders this summer for $149, preceded by Indigo Books & Music in Canada in May.

Meanwhile, Kobo isn’t neglecting its devices strategy. It already has BlackBerry, iPhone, Android, Mac, and PC (and some others we’re likely forgetting), but it’s also showing an iPad app that looks all ready to go. There aren’t many details about it, but like all things Kobo it looks pretty single purpose and slick — check out the screenshots below.

Editor’s note: due to the horrible lighting conditions at the CTIA event we were attending, we had to photograph the device under the warm lights of a meat-cutting station, hence the incongruous backdrop of these hands-on photos.

Kobo eReader hands-on

Kobo eReader press shots

Kobo iPad app screenshots

The Wall Street Journal noted this morning that Sony’s rather quietly dropped the price of its Pocket Reader about $30 to $169. Now, it’s actually what amounts to a sale — the price cut lasts only through April 4th — but that date, just two days after the iPad is made available, could give us a little insight into the timing of the drop. The Wall Street Journal also posits that this could be the first in a series of price war moves in the single purpose e-reader market which are now facing competition from multi-purpose devices such as the aforementioned iPad and the recently announced Kindle app for tablets.

You know who makes the E-Ink displays on the Kindle? PVI. The Taiwanese company is also the EPD provider for several other tier-1 eReader device makers including Sony. So take a good look at that color E-Ink prototype display currently sitting in a PVI booth at a Shenzhen tradeshow ’cause that’s what you’ll see packed in color eReaders near the end of the year and into 2011. PVI is showing off both 6- and 9.7-inch color prototypes set to hit the manufacturing lines in Q4 (and sampling now), just right for the Kindle 2 and Kindle DX should Amazon choose to keep things simple and just swap out the display (and a minimum of componentry) within its existing device lineup. It’s worth noting that the extra layer of color filtering glass will impact battery life a bit, but certainly not enough to lose its edge on LCDs. And while PVI was demonstrating a color animation running on its new displays, they can’t do video worth a damn due to the slow frame refresh. And don’t expect to see the color EPDs sporting a contrast or color vibrancy anywhere close to what you’ll get from a traditional LCD either. Regardless, people seem smitten by the USA Today’s use of color so we’re sure these color E-Ink displays will find their niche as well.

We’ve wrote quite a few posts about the Entourage eDGe dual screen eReader + Android tablet combo. It seems that more and more samples are getting to pressfor review. Now it’s time for CNET to get their hands on video treatment on the Entourage eDGe.

After watching that video I can positively say that the eDGe is a nice concept, especially for educational purposes, there’s a lot to be improved here, but that’s always the case with the first generation of innovative new products. The eDGe sells for 499$ in 5 color versions, so plenty of choice here for consumers, has 4 GB of built-in memory, just like the Kindle, but is way more heavy, around 3 lbs (5-6 time heavier) thus handling it is not that easy after prolonged periods of holding in hand.

CNET really liked the massive 9.7 inch eInk screen with annotations capabilities, making it ideal for memorizing your ideas while reading an eBook, then print them on paper or share them with your friends. A special journal mode allows taking notes, like you on a blank sheet of paper.

The eReader part of the Entourage eDGe works with PDF files and other formats but not the one used in Kindle. You can copy your own ebooks from an USB flash disk or buy them online from the included shop, or get free Google eBooks (also included in the installed ‘library’). About the Android screen on the right we’ve found out it’s a stripped out version which features things like eMail, Browser, Office suite and eBook store plus some default installed apps without any option to install others from the Android Market. There’s even the option to get it work like a word processor by attaching a keyboard and folding down the eInk screen like a support base for the tablet.

The Alex ereader is out and I got to look at it today for a few minutes. The top part is a real epaper screen and the bottom part is essentially a small Android MID. The device has Wi-Fi and is available now for $399, shipping in May.

The company had a few interesting points about their sales strategy. Their goal isn’t to sell and ship devices, although their ereader will play epub, PDF, HTML, and TXT files out of the box. They are currently partnering with international publishing houses and periodicals and will work with those partners to create an web store as well as a unique UI for each device. In this way a newspaper could offer a branded version of its reader and offer it at a subsidized rate to online subscribers or a publishing house or book store could offer their own branded experience.

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I quite happen to believe in the role of educational computers in development of third world countries, but this kind on initiative is not limited to them. Educational computers like the Intel Classmate PC shouldn’t be regarded as just cheap computers but also as special designed tools to help scholars and students to learn better. We’ve talked a few times here at AllTouchTablet.com about the Classmate Convertible PC from Intel and now it’s time to watch a real presentation from one of Intel’s employees that explains better that we ever could how the Classmate has evolved in past years and what are the plans for future series.

Intel has already shipped over two million devices, with more than 500.000 being used in Portugal at this time, where parents are paying for them in three percentages, 0%, 20% and 50% according to their household income, the rest being covered by the Portuguese government. I say that’s nice for a device that costs somewhere between 200 and 400$. What I would have love to see is the Classmate and devices like that sold to regular people too, as I wouldn’t mind having a rugged tablet with me in any of my trips outdoors. Would you?

see entire post with video at alltouchtablet.com/