The Reading Edge Podcast: Recent Episodes
Len Edgerly
I'm thoroughly impressed with the engineering behind the new Sony Reader PRS-350, as you'll see in this video review. They managed to create a touch screen which does not cripple the readability of the E Ink screen, and it weighs only 5 3/4 ounces, compared with 7 5/8 ounces for the previous Sony Reader Pocket Edition, PRS-300. The Kindle 3 weighs 8 1/8 ounces. But as a competitor to the Kindle 3, the new Sony Pocket fails because of price ($40 more than the $139 Kindle WiFi only) and lack of a wireless connection. One thing I forgot to mention in the video: turning the pages on the PRS-350 is effortless and very cool - a slight flick of the finger accomplishes the page turn, because of the excellent new touch screen.
Tony Antolino, senior vice president of Copia Interactive , has been involved with Copia from its beginnings about two years ago as an initiative of DMC Worldwide, a privately held company with a 56-year history. Copia is just about to launch via applications for desktop, iPad and browser, and they expect to begin offering e-reader devices in the fall.
The Copia Beta that I've been trying reminds me of Goodreads, the social network for readers launched in December of 2006 that now has 3.5 million members who have added 100 million book titles. There's also LibraryThing which describes itself as a community of 1 million book lovers. So there is lots of competition in this promising area of social media for readers.
My interview with Tony took place by Skype and phone on August 18, 2010.
I purchased four e-book copies of Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel--one each for Sony Reader, Kobo, nook, and Kindle--in order to compare the reading experience for the same book on four leading e-readers. After eliminating the devices that do not offer dictionary, notes, and highlights, the tournament ends with a nook v. Kindle battle through five tests. You'll learn which device was the victor, as well as many details about the reading experience on competing e-readers. Recorded in Cambridge, Mass., on August 15, 2010, before release of the Kindle 3 and nook 2.
I pre-ordered an Aluratek Libre PRO e-reader for $119.99 and picked it up yesterday (July 22, 2010) at the South Portland, Maine, Borders Store. Store General Manager Gail Sanborn was kind enough to video the unboxing using my iPhone 4. The Libre looked pretty impressive in the bright sunlight outside the store, and in the […]
The Kobo Reader, at $150, costs less than the Kindle 6-inch and the nook, and does less, too. But the Kobo’s svelte profile and light weight make it convenient for reading in some settings. In all, it’s an attractive new entry in the e-book sweepstakes. All three of these e-ink readers have advantages over the […]
My take on Spring Design’s Alex e-reader, recorded in Cambridge, Mass., on May 4, 2010. With comparison’s to the Barnes & Noble nook and Amazon’s Kindle. One thing I did not mention in this video is that the nook is running the new 1.3 operating software, which added web browsing and other features. Click here […]
Unboxing an Alex by Spring Design and comparing its size factor with a nook, a Kindle, and an iPad. Plus: a fire alarm.
Social media evangelist Bryan Person did Part 2 of our conversation about the iPad on Thursday April 15, 2010. This gave me a chance to revisit my expectations on how good a reading device the iPad would be compared with the Kindle. We spoke 12 days after I had bought my 16GB WiFi-only iPad at […]
My Bennington MFA classmate Valerie Ellis and I attended a thought-provoking session on April 8, 2010, at The Association of Writers and Writing Programs (AWP) national convention here in Denver. The title was "The Networked Poetry Classroom," and one of the panelists was Michelle Taransky, who works full-time at the University of Pennsylvania's Kelly Writers House in Philadelphia.
Michelle is also the author of Barn Burned, Then , selected by Marjorie Welish as winner of the 2008 Omnidawn poetry prize. She teaches at Temple University and is Reviews Editor for Jacket2 .
Valerie and I the night before the conference had been discussing the use of technology in classrooms, so Michelle's tales of streaming Twitter in her classroom gave us lots to consider.
On my first iPad session at a local Starbucks in Denver, I realize that overhead lights can be a challenge as reflections in the iPad's screen. Some horsing around with a Gorilla tripod solved the problem. For a relatively simple project this morning, involving email, Safari, and Apple's Pages word processor, I was able to leave my MacBook Air in the bag and work exclusively with the iPad.