Zek | Gear Diary

NXE ActiveSleeve Review

I have an ongoing issue when I run. I carry my Droid both because it tracks my runs for me but also because I am an early morning runner and feel better having my phone with me. The problem, as you may know, is that the Droid is not a small phone. It’s uncomfortable to carry in my hand and you don’t want to know how uncomfortable it is to run with a Droid bouncing around in your pants pocket. Let’s just say it leads to some odd-looking bruises on your leg. In any case, I’m always on the hunt…

eBooks

IDC Reports eBook Sales Numbers with Some Surprising Results

IDC has done some number crunching, and their ebook sales numbers are…interesting, to say the least. They say Amazon is #1, but surprisingly Pandigital has a very strong showing against B&N, coming in third for the year but second for the fourth quarter. That’s a huge shocker, though Pandigital did flood the market with several models over the course of 2010. I do wonder why IDC didn’t include Pandigital under media tablets, since even though they’re marketed as ebook readers they all run various flavors of Android. Even more interesting, Sony’s numbers were up 80%, which sounds great…until you find…

eBooks, Gear Bits

eBooks Really Are Getting Cheaper!

Over at Teleread, they have a very interesting, if unscientific, analysis of eBook pricing over the years. By taking prices from 2004 and comparing them to prices today, Chris Walters determined that there has been a slight drop in overall pricing, even if it doesn’t feel that way with the Agency Model taking away $9.99 price points! In a nutshell, Chris argues that the same books bought for $280 in 2004 would cost $213 today. Yes, it’s a subjective analysis, but as a random sampling, it’s somewhat helpful. And he further points out that the average price for fiction titles…

Gear Bits

Hike the Appalachian Trail from Your Chair!

This is a super cool video if, like me, you’ve ever daydreamed about hiking the full Appalachian trail. However, since I have a job and lack the fitness to head out the door and cover 2,174 miles (unlike Dean Karnazes, who is currently running across the whole damn country!) Luckily, an intrepid through-hiker videotaped his experience, sped it up, added some fun music and created this video. If you’ve ever hiked the Appalachian and can identify any of the trails as they go by, be sure to share in the comments! Warning: If you’re sitting in your office while watching,…

News & Features

Facebook to Enter Video Streaming

I admit, I’m not a big Facebook-er. I use it as a necessary evil, not a destination site. But it looks like the folks who brought us the “like” button are taking their insinuation into our lives a step farther; now they’re going to stream video too! According to the Wall Street Journal, Warner Brothers is floating a trial balloon in the form of of “The Dark Knight”. Rather than stream it through a subscription service like Netflix, you’ll be able to rent “The Dark Knight” on Facebook for 30 credits (or $3.00). While it’s only one movie, it’s enough…

eBooks, Gear Bits

Andy Rooney Rants About eBooks

Apparently, Andy Rooney is not a fan of Kindles and NOOKs. His 60 Minutes rant this past week was all about ebooks. I really hate to say this about Andy Rooney, but he really missed the mark big time. He expressed surprise that paperbacks are being outsold by ebooks, and seemed wholly perplexed by the concept that an eBook reader holds 3,000+ titles. At one point he touches upon one of his books being free, though he doesn’t explain if he’s mad about piracy, or if it was some sort of “freebie” deal organized by his publisher. Sadly, the germ…

eBooks

European Union Investigating eBook Pricing

It’s a safe bet that if you aren’t a publisher you’re not happy with the agency model. It did more than just change the nature of publisher/seller relations; it actively changed how booksellers could sell ebooks. Suddenly everyone had to fall in line with the exact same prices, and discounts were banned. Needless to say, this raised some regulatory eyebrows, and according to the Guardian UK, there’s been some old-fashioned office raiding over it! According to the article: The European commission has launched morning raids on several publishing houses suspected of fixing the prices of ebooks, as a huge battle for the…

Editorials

The Consequences of Distracted Driving

I got into a fender bender last night. Luckily no one was hurt, and as for the damage to my car (see above), well, that’s what insurance is for. In the aftermath, though, I’ve been doing quite a bit of thinking on how easily I let myself get distracted while driving, not just yesterday but in general…and fortuitously, this afternoon I came across my old iPod shuffle. If you’re wondering how I went from distracted driving to iPod shuffle, it’s not that crazy a leap. I usually use my Droid for music in my car, either using the built-in music…

eBooks, Editorials

Is Apple Going to Boot eBook Apps? My Conspiracy Theory…

I might be seeing conspiracies where there aren’t any, but I think I see a pattern in many business decisions going on in the eBook market lately. We’re all sitting on the edge of our seats waiting for the outcome of the in-app purchasing drama, and so far no one’s (overtly) talking. But reading between the lines tells a very different story… 1) Apple can’t be happy with how iBooks has performed so far. 100 million books downloads is an empty number, especially since everyone who downloads iBooks gets one download to go with it. With a very low number…

Gear Bits

Runners World Interviews Robot Marathon Champ!

You may or may not have followed the robot marathon that went on in Japan, but over at Runners World, they took it very seriously. After all, if we’re going to be racing robots soon, it’s important to stay on top of the competition! I followed it too, and have to say I was pretty thrilled to see that robots are slower than me. I’m not that slow, but I’m solidly middle of the pack, and have had a few smaller races where my goal was “don’t be last”. Now I know I just need to convince a robot to…

eBooks

State of the eBook: Good News/Bad News

It’s that time again! There’s a whole slew of exciting and disappointing news in the ebook world, so let’s jump right in and take a look! The exciting news: -Asus is rumored to be releasing the EEE Note reader soon, for a very reasonable $200. The biggest thing about the EEE Note isn’t the ebook reading, but that it will include a Wacom digitizer for note-taking. Ebooks and digital textbooks have had an uphill battle in academics in large part due to the difficulty in taking notes while reading. No guarantees the EEE Note has cracked this, but the price…

eBooks

The eBook Piracy Boogeyman

Publishers looooove to complain about piracy, and how it’s going to destroy the very foundation of bookselling. That’s why they say we need digital rights management, and why there are an ongoing cat and mouse game between content providers and enterprising users finding ways to strip out the DRM and truly own their ebooks. So is the threat of piracy that real? Is a bookstore version of Napster brewing in a dorm room right now, just waiting to ensnare your Kindle in its web? Well, there might be, but apparently, the vast majority of individual titles being downloaded over peer-to-peer…

News & Features

Honeycomb’s Strawman

I’ve noticed a troubling and confusing theme in reviews and comments about Google’s new OS, Honeycomb. It seems everyone thinks it’s great, but there’s an anti-Xoom, anti-Honeycomb meme that keeps appearing about the lack of Honeycomb-specific apps in the Marketplace. This is what’s called a “Straw man” argument. Rather than argue Honeycomb on its actual merits, pros and cons, they’re trotting out something that sounds awful (Honeycomb has very few apps) and using it as a distraction. Now, I can’t comment too deeply on Honeycomb, but I’ve played around with Android on a tablet with a rooted NOOKcolor, and I…

eBooks

eBooks in the Public Library under Fire!

eBooks in libraries have been a challenge for quite a while. Libraries often can’t afford the licensing fees, or people don’t know they can check them out, or the Overdrive system has issues…there are many barriers to entry. Now it looks like publishers are putting yet another roadblock in front of public libraries trying to build an ebook following. Apparently, HarperCollins is now requiring libraries to “re-purchase” ebooks after they are downloaded 26 times. So popular books are going to need to be re-upped pretty frequently! This is going to put a serious crimp in the growth of public ebook…

Reviews

SafeWallet and SafeWallet Desktop (Android) Review

It seems like everything in life has a login,or needs a credit card or an account number. There’s tons of information to track, and you certainly don’t want to leave it open in a memo on your computer or saved casually on your phone. That’s where an app like SafeWallet comes in to help. SafeWallet, from SBSH Software, is probably familiar to anyone who came from Symbian, the iPhone or Blackberry. It’s been around for those platforms for some time, but since I have never tried it this is all new to me. Basically, the app works by creating “wallets”…

News & Features

ContentMatters Translates Borders CEO’s Email

Content Matters has taken the time to give a more honest interpretation of Mike Edwards’ email, and it does a great job of hitting the high (er…low) points in Borders’ history. My favorite bits: So around 3 years ago, Amazon came out with this Kindle e-reader. As my mama said – who the heck wants to read a book on a computer? So we did the smart thing and ignored it. Our friends at Barnes & Noble came out with their own version, called the Nook. And we ignored that one too. Then last year, our private equity investors told…

Editorials

Remembering Borders…

It’s official-Borders has filed for bankruptcy. They’re going through Chapter 11, which means they have the opportunity to renegotiate debts and restructure the company. Whether or not it works, the company that emerges from this process isn’t going to be the same Borders. That’s not necessarily a bad thing if it helps them survive long-term, but it does make me mourn the Borders I knew and loved. I’ve talked about this a few times before, but I worked for Borders on and off in college and in management after college. If you walked up to me seven years ago and…

News & Features

Apple’s 30% Toll on App Store Content

Rumors have been rumbling since the Sony Reader app was rejected that Apple was planning on making changes to subscriptions and in-app purchases. Today, Apple fired the first shot across the bow with a press release making it clear that all subscription options must be offered as an option through iTunes (complete with a 30% cut to Apple). Engadget is reporting that Rhapsody has already weighed in with their response, and it’s a big fat no. According to Rhapsody, 30% is simply too high to be sustainable. What’s really interesting is that in their press release Rhapsody explains they are…

News & Features

Amazon Video on Demand Comes to the Rescue!

I’ll be honest — I am not always on top of ordering gifts ahead of time. Even when I have a plan, or am told exactly what to purchase, I somehow always push it to the last minute. Luckily for me, I was ordering Sarah “Big Love: Season 4” for Valentine’s Day, and Amazon comes through like a champ by offering free “video on demand” rentals with purchase! See, without it I would have been without part of Sarah’s Valentine’s day present (bad Carly!) But thanks to the free rentals, we were able to start watching the show even though…

eBooks

Borders’ Failures Summed up in One Sentence

Oh, Borders. They’re only a few days away from bankruptcy (so says the Wall Street Journal), and I had an experience in one of their stores today that sums up the reason fairly well. It’s not really about the exact statement, more about the history and philosophy that came with it; I walked away and immediately said, “And that’s why this company is falling apart.” I was standing by the awfully-named “Area-E”, checking out their ebook readers, when an employee approached me and began to pitch the devices. Their Cruz Tablet was broken, but the woman helping me tried very…

Gear Bits

Google Email Bombs My Inbox

I woke up this morning and had 80 emails. My first thought was that my email had been hacked, because why else would I have 80+ emails over the course of 8 hours??? Then I started reading them, and realized someone at Google “helpfully” opened the floodgates on a Chrome OS beta tester Google Group. The craziest part is that not everyone receiving the emails has a CR-48 netbook. So in addition to 40 emails saying “how do I unsubscribe/why am I getting spammed” and another 20 explaining how to change subscription options in Google Groups, there were a handful…

Articles by Zek