PC Magazine reviews the Sony Reader PRS 500

The Sony Reader is the next generation of e-books. It has a crisp, high-contrast electronic display that uses E Ink. The Reader is only half an inch thick and about the length and width of a paperback novel. It also plays music and can display PDF files.

Bottom Line: The Sony Reader could change the way you read everything from books to blogs.
Pros: Easy-to-read display. Long battery life.
Cons: Not available for sale. Not all of the features were activated.

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Emergency Responders Rely on Smartphones and Handhelds to Gain Quick Access to Reference Materials During Hazardous-Materials Incidents (Palm, Inc.)

Palm Products Offer Flexibility to Emergency Responders Through National Library of Medicine's WISER Mobile Application

SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jul 26, 2006 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Palm, Inc. (Nasdaq:PALM) today announced that the National Library of Medicine (NLM), the largest medical library in the world and an organization within the National Institutes of Health (NIH), has created a free application for emergency responders called Wireless Information System for Emergency Responders (WISER) that runs on Palm(R) Treo(TM) smartphones and handhelds. Emergency responders use Palm products paired with the WISER application as wireless or stand-alone reference tools for gathering information on hazardous substances and supporting comprehensive decision support. The solution serves as a reliable alternative to the current paper-based systems or outdated technology that emergency responders often contend with on a scene.

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Questions for Sony regarding the Reader (PRS-500) ebook reading device (Make)

Sony's PR folks sent us a note, Bennett from Goodman Media International writes - "I am part of the PR team working with Sony on the launch of the Reader (PRS-500) ebook reading device. As I am sure you are aware, a great deal of information and misinformation has been floating around the internet about the product since its announcement at CES in January 2006. To help clear up some of the confusion, we would like to offer you and your readers an opportunity to speak with Sony directly about the Reader to dispel some of the myth that has surrounded its rollout. As a first step, we would like to suggest compiling questions from your readers about the device. I will then share them directly with a senior member of Sony's product team for response. Hopefully, if all works well, we can work together to separate fact from fiction about the Reader."

This is a smart move, good work Sony. So Makers - here are my questions - post yours!

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Be sure and read this - there were a huge number of comments (331) when I looked at this post.

The Li-ion, the (s)Witch, and the Wardrobe: I Review the Treo 700p (Palm Addicts)

With profuse apologies to C.S. Lewis, I submit that my prosaic title is an honest summary of what the new Palm Treo 700p represents:

> Keeping something good (the removable Li-ion battery)

> Improving something good (the Treo ringer switch)

> Adding something good (clothing the device in a sleeker external wardrobe, and an internal power-suit of applications & EvDO network connectivity)

Up front, I liked the Treo 700p enough to buy it as an upgrade to my irreplaceable Treo 650. However, that’s not to say that its perfect (it isn’t), or that Palm doesn’t owe us a firmware update (they do).

It keeps (almost) everything that made the Treo 650 such a pleasure to use (after 2 major firmware upgrades) and adds a lot that was lacking. The combination provides for a powerhouse device that redefines converged. The Treo 700p is fast. Fast at email, fast at browsing (even in non EvDO areas), fast at handling phone calls and PIM functionality.

However...no matter how 1st-rate a device the 700p is, Palm still left a few things undone, or improperly tuned.

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Links for 2006-7-14

• Sony Reader Video Review (PC Magazine)
• How to sync your Google Calendar with your Treo using a Mac (Palm Addicts)
  
• Palm on My Windows Mobile (Palm Addicts)
• MobileRead Networks

Earthcomber and Book Sense Put Independent Booksellers on the “Mobile Map”

CHICAGO (June 15, 2006) – Book Sense, the marketing program for independent bookstores, has partnered with Earthcomber to offer the directory of Book Sense store locations in a mobile GPS-enabled format for Palm OS and Windows Mobile PDAs and smart phones. The new service is part of a trend in mobile marketing that matches on-the-go consumers with their personal interests.

Whether users of the guide are traveling or exploring their own hometowns, Earthcomber will now help them find all independent booksellers that are a part of the Book Sense network in addition to local hotels, unique shops, local services, restaurants, businesses, events and relocation information that already are a part of the 1.5 million points of interest that come with the free Earthcomber dataset.

Book Sense, a campaign of the American Booksellers Association, the trade group for independent stores nationwide, is both a local and national effort to shine a light on the knowledge and diversity of independent bookstores. By making Book Sense store locations available via Earthcomber, independent booksellers are tapping into an enormous mobile marketplace and using technology that allows them to reach consumers that are specifically looking for book stores.

“Including the Book Sense store location directory in Earthcomber searches just makes good business sense—readers and consumers are using technology to shop and find books in new ways everyday, and Earthcomber allows the independents to be part of one of those new ways,” said Meg Smith, Associate Director Book Sense marketing and ABA spokesperson. “The Book Sense program was developed to give independent bookstores ways to reach their customers, through the Book Sense Picks fliers, BookSense.com, the Book Sense Bestseller list, the gift card program, and now through Earthcomber.”

Earthcomber, available at Earthcomber.com as a free download, includes maps of every region in the United States. The patent-pending technology maintains individual privacy while constantly combing the area each person travels for anything from an ATM to a waterfall, cup of coffee, museum, bistro, school, golf course, bar or even local events.

“Mobile marketing with Earthcomber is a powerful way to reach a select group of consumers without ever violating customer privacy or giving them information they do not want or need,” said Jim Brady, Earthcomber CEO, founder and former Oprah.com executive producer. “It also allows your customer to find you when they need you, no matter where they are at the time—something that can’t be said for any other form of marketing.”

All users of Earthcomber automatically receive the Book Sense store locations when they download Earthcomber maps and location data, whenever they look for “books” or “book store.”

The top 9 ways to secure mobile devices (ComputerWorld)

In the past six months a disturbing trend has emerged involving the theft of laptops containing sensitive personal information -- most recently from the home of a U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs data analyst.

These inevitably involve the loss of names, addresses, Social Security numbers and often credit card or investment account numbers of thousands of people. The VA case involved all veterans who retired from active duty in the last 40 years.

At the March FOSE '06 conference on computing in government, Cisco Systems CEO John Chambers told an increasingly familiar story about getting a letter from his financial advisers warning that his personal information may have been stolen along with someone's laptop. "What do I do now?" he quipped, "Change my name?"

These losses are embarrassing and costly, and they may be only the tip of an oncoming iceberg, as corporations increasingly equip their outside sales and support people and traveling executives with mobile "gadgets" -- smart phones and other handhelds -- that not only access corporate e-mail but carry copies of databases on corporate clients, R&D, financials and strategy.

These devices are very vulnerable to both accidental loss and theft, said Jack Gold, founder and president of J.Gold Associates in Northboro, Mass., and a former analyst at Meta Group. "My expectation is that we will see at least one major theft of a smart phone or PDA exposing sensitive corporate data within the next two years."

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SUNYLA New Tech Wiki

The SUNYLA New Tech Wiki: http://sunylanewtechwiki.pbwiki.com/

This wiki is a place for all SUNY libraries to look to see how their colleagues in SUNY are using blogs, RSS, Instant Messaging, and other technologies to enhance their interaction with their patrons. The list would be a place to learn the following:

• Which libraries are using these new tools to enhance their interaction with their patrons.
• How are they using these technologies.
• What are the latest new technologies and how may they apply to my library.

We welcome all SUNY librarians using these technologies to add/edit their entries with feedback on how well the technology works for them, what problems were encountered and what solutions (if any) were able to overcome problems.

This wiki would be a great resource for any SUNY libraries who have not yet used any of these newer tools, or those who would like to see some examples of how it is done, how it is working before they take the plunge into blogging, rss, etc.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The password to edit the blog will be published on various SUNYLA lists.

If you need assistance, contact:

· Peter Barvoets : barvoepd@cobleskill.edu

· Bill Drew: drewwe@morrisville.edu

A project of the








The SUNYLA New Tech Wiki:

http://sunylanewtechwiki.pbwiki.com/




This wiki is a place for all SUNY libraries to look to see how their colleagues in SUNY are using blogs, RSS, Instant Messaging, and other technologies to enhance their interaction with their patrons. The list would be a place to learn the following:

Which libraries are using these new tools to enhance their interaction with their patrons.
How are they using these technologies.
What are the latest new technologies and how may they apply to my library.
We welcome all SUNY librarians using these technologies to add/edit their entries with feedback on how well the technology works for them, what problems were encountered and what solutions (if any) were able to overcome problems.

This wiki would be a great resource for any SUNY libraries who have not yet used any of these newer tools, or those who would like to see some examples of how it is done, how it is working before they take the plunge into blogging, rss, etc.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The password to edit the blog is: sunylatech

If you need assistance contact:

· Peter Barvoets : barvoepd@cobleskill.edu

· Bill Drew: drewwe@morrisville.edu

A project of the






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Mossberg Compares the Q and Treo 700p (Palm InfoCenter)

Walt Mossberg, the Wall Street Journal's personal technology reviewer, is widely regarded as a huge fan of Palm's Treo line. Walt recently put two smartphone heavyweights to the test: Motorola's new Windows Mobile Q, available exclusively on Verizon and Palm's Treo 700p, available on both Sprint and Verizon. Despite the Q coming in with sleek Razr-like styling cues and an astounding low price ($200 w/ 2-year contract), He still gives the nod to the $400 Treo 700p. The full article goes over the two smartphones and illustrates just how dissimilar these two competitors actually are.

Survey: iPods more popular than beer (Yahoo! News)

Move over Bud. College life isn't just about drinking beer. In a rare instance, Apple Computer Inc.'s iconic iPod music player surpassed beer drinking as the most "in" thing among undergraduate college students, according to the latest biannual market research study by Ridgewood, N.J.-based Student Monitor.

Nearly three quarters, or 73 percent, of 1,200 students surveyed said iPods were "in" — more than any other item in a list that also included text messaging, bar hopping and downloading music.

In the year-ago study, only 59 percent of students named the iPod as "in," putting the gadget well below alcohol-related activities.

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Groups to give free access to online books (Yahoo News/AP)

By DAVE CARPENTER, AP Business Writer

CHICAGO - Electronic book devotees may want to set aside some extra screen time this summer, as two nonprofits are preparing to provide free access to 300,000 texts online.

Project Gutenberg and World eBook Library plan to make "a third of a million" e-books available free for a month at the first World eBook Fair. Downloads will be available at the fair's Web site from July 4, the 35th anniversary of Project Gutenberg's founding, through Aug. 4.

The majority of the books will be contributed by the World eBook Library. It otherwise charges $8.95 a year for access to its database of more than 250,000 e-books, documents and articles.
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Cell Phone Stolen? Make it useless for the thief! (gHacks Tech News)

This is a neat little trick that should work with most phones and phone service provider. You simply enter a code in your mobile phone that reveals the unique serial number of it. If your phone gets stolen you report the theft and the serial number to your provider and they have the means to make the phone useless. That means no one will be able to use it, at least not for phoning.

The code is: * # 0 6 #

The fifteen-digit code is the unique serial number of your mobile phone. Write it down, it´s your IMEI Code. When someone steals your mobile you report the theft and your IMEI Code to your service provider. Most providers will ban that serial number making the phone useless.

[via: snopes.com]

ID Your iPod, PSP, Treo, and More! (Gothamist)

We imagine Steve Jobs knows about this: The NYPD is offering to etch an ID number on your iPod so it'll be easier for you to get it back if (God forbid!) it gets lost or stolen. The Daily New reports that NYPD has registered 2100 units so far, with NYPD Transit Bureau crime prevention commanding officer Sergeant William Buckley explaining:

Overall crime is down in the subways, but for iPods and cell phones, unfortunately it's up.

These are simple crimes of opportunity. You might be sitting by a door listening to your iPod, not looking around you, and a thief waits for the three seconds before the subway doors close to grab it.

Yeah - and it's so much harder to hold onto a laptop than an iPod! Apparently the "ghostly etching" (special ink that can be seen with infrared) can be removed, so police are also logging serial numbers. Which reminds us that we should be keeping track of serial numbers anyway.

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ebooks article in the NYT: Sony Reader to be sold in Borders

From April 4, 2006 New York Times:

Progress in Distributing New Book Formats By MOTOKO RICH

"Efforts to bring readers new formats for books are continuing as Sony
Electronics announced a deal yesterday to sell its much vaunted Sony
Reader in 200 Borders stores when the Reader begins sales in midsummer
(a delay from original plans for spring). Borders will be the only book
chain to sell the Reader at first. It will also be available at
SonyStyle stores and online, and will cost $300 to $400. Borders will sell
accessories and prepaid cards to use when downloading the books from Sony's Web site (connect.com). Several thousand titles will be available for the Reader..."


Copyright 2006 The New York Times

Playaway self playing digital audio book available

Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center Releases
Playaway Project Report

The Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center, Alliance Library System, and TAP Information Services are pleased to announce the availability of a report on a field test of the Playaway self-playing digital audio book conducted from December 2005 – March 2006. The full text of the report is available at
http://www.mitbc.org/Playaway/Playawayfinal.htm.
More information on Playaway devices and content are available at http://www.playawaydigital.com/index_flash.aspx.

During the project period, 140 devices were circulated to patrons from the Mid-Illinois Talking Book Center. The experiences and feedback gleaned during this small field test indicate that libraries of all types should seriously consider a self-contained digital audio book device such as the Playaway as one way to introduce the pleasure and convenience of digital audio books to broad middle group of their service populations—users who are neither technophobic nor technologically proficient. Many users with computers are excited about the availability of downloadable digital audio books. Playaway gives readers without a computer or an MP3 player the opportunity to experience digital audio books and libraries a way to offer digital audio books without worrying about platforms and players.

“Playaway represents an interesting intersection of the key functionality of digital audio books with the simplicity and portability of a small self-contained device,” stated Tom Peters, Project Director and evaluator.

For more information on the project, contact Tom Peters of TAP Information Services at tapinformation@yahoo.com or 816-228-6406. For more information on Playaway and libraries, contact Mike Belsito of Findaway World/Playaway at mike.belsito@findawayworld.com.

Smartphones to Outsell PDAs by 5:1 in 2006

Smartphones to Outsell PDAs by 5:1 in 2006

"What a difference two years can make. In 2003 worldwide PDA sales surpassed Smartphone sales by over 70%. In 2005 Smartphones outsold PDAs by a factor of 3.4 to 1, which is forecasted to reach 5:1 in 2006. Smartphone sales will continue to grow and will surpass PDA sales by an 11:1 margin in 2011."

Source: Computer Industry Almanac, via the ResourceShelf http://www.resourceshelf.com/

Loomia: a podcast and videocast search engine plus much more

Loomia: "a podcast and videocast search engine plus much more. Our goal is to help you discover, share, and manage things of interest to you. We make use of the likes and dislikes of an ever-increasing community to filter through thousands of channels to help you find good stuff." It invites you to add your own tags to the content.

Librarians should check out some of the podcasts filed under the tag "library."

From Neat New Stuff I Found This Week http://marylaine.com/neatnew.html

Ultra Mobile Personal Computers

Full function mini-computers such as the OQO have created a big enough buzz that Microsoft has gotten into the game. They have had a very high profile secret project, code named Oragami, which was just unveiled in early March.

We’ve heard Bill Gates’ call for a less expensive, lighter and more functional mobile computer, and this is Microsoft’s answer – the ultra mobile personal computer, or UMPC – just rolls off the tongue, huh?

Like the ultra pc’s, the ultra mobile pc’s have full pc and internet capabilities. They offer anytime connectivity with access to email, im, voip.

They can also provide location adaptability – personalized info and services based on location; environment recognition, that is, providing different interaction with the user and with other devices depending on whether you are in your living room or your car.

Different flavors will be hitting the market soon, but the underlying baseline physical specs are:
Windows xp tablet, which will be upgraded to Vista
7” or smaller diagonal display (like a paperback); 800x480 resolution
Wifi and bluetooth
60 gig hard drive; 2 Usb ports
2 lbs or less; $599-$999

http://origamiproject.com

Mobile Marketing Association Mobile User Stats

Mobile Marketing Association Mobile User Stats

Mobile phone subscribers worldwide have reached 1.4 billion, surpassing land lines subscribers.

There are 193 million mobile subscribers in the US, nearly 95% of active mobile phones support text messaging, and 62% of subscribers use it.

US mobile subscribers are exchanging almost 7 billion text messages a month, compared to 2.5 billion a year ago. And this is just a shade of what’s its likely to be, given that there are 350 billion text messages exchanged worldwide every month.

About 80% of new phones shipped are capable of full web surfing, and already about 5% of phone users are maintaining a data plan on their phone or handheld to enable 24/7 surfing.

http://www.mmaglobal.com/

Can You Fear Me Now? Marketing Stephen King's new book via the smart phone

Designed to take Cell beyond the printed page, mobile phone users were offered a membership to join the Stephen King VIP Club via text message.

VIP Club members received a voice message from Stephen King himself, as well as weekly messages with trivia, sweepstakes, and other Cell-related content.

King also hosted a podcast with a reading from the thriller novel.

There is also premium content for sale, like wallpapers and Stephen King talk-tones

Can you fear me now? (from Slate.com)