Enjoying the Kindle app on my mobile device(s)

Recently, I did some personal traveling (vacation) and it was great to have tablets for the kids. I had movies playing on the iPad and the ThinkPad Tablet. Meanwhile, I did some writing on my laptop and my wife was working with photos and videos on her Mac. When I a chance to sit back and relax by the pool, I pulled out a tablet and did some reading using the Kindle app. One of the great features about this app is that you can sync your reading across all your devices. What this means is that I can be on page 44 on my iPad. Then, I can put the device away and later if I'm standing in line, I may pull out my Android smartphone and open the Kindle app. It takes me right to page 44 where I left off on my iPad. This reading "sync" is a convenient feature that helps you read through books while remaining device agnostic.

Right now, I'm roughly 1/4 of the way through a book. I did roughly 75% of my reading on my ThinkPad Tablet, about 10% on my Android smartphone, and 15% on my iPad.

This seems like a great way to help medical students keep up with their studies. They should have synchronized textbooks that are accessible on any mobile device. This way, whether they have a tablet or a smartphone, they can read, review, memorize, and work through various clinical subjects to achieve mastery. I didn't have that luxury when I was a student. I still remember carrying heavy textbooks in my backpack and wondering when these things would enter the digital era.

Some of you have probably never purchased an e-book (or digital book). Well, there's a first time for everything. If you're not sure about digital reading, you can test it out by installing the Kindle app on your mobile device and reading some free classics like The Art of War or the Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

If you're in the market for a color e-reader/low-end tablet, you may want to wait

Author: Riley Alexander, MD, MBA

While the existence of Amazon's Kindle tablet has all but been confirmed, we still don't know a lot the specific hardware details besides it's size and general form factor. It's looking like we won't have to wait too much longer--Amazon has a conference scheduled for 9/28 that will surprise everyone if it isn't about this color Kindle tablet.

Not to be outdone, it has leaked that Barnes and Noble has plans to update its very capable Nook Color this quarter with not just a hardware update to its current model, but an entirely new model. Very little is known about the new model other than that it is supposed to cost $349 as compared to the current $249 of the standard Nook Color. I'm betting that with a $100 price bump, this device will be larger and much more "tablet-like" than the emphasis on an e-reader with tablet features that the current Nook Color has. I highly recommend waiting to make your holiday purchase of either of these devices as the next models could be fairly significant upgrades.

New Kindles (3G with Special Offers) and Nooks

Amazon now has a new Kindle 3G. This one includes Special Offers & Sponsored Screensavers and it's only $164. The 3G is free and it works globally, so it's great for international travelers.

Barnes and Noble recently announced a touch-enabled Nook. The Nook has an all-new look too:

ALL-NEW NOOK

• The Simple Touch Reader™
• Easiest to use 6” touchscreen
• Most advanced E-Ink® display—crisp text, even in bright sun
• Longest battery life—read up to 2 months on just 1 charge
• Ultra-light and thin—under 8 ounces
• Largest bookstore with more than 2 million titles—get them in seconds
• Expert recommendations & fun social features

Samsung digital reader may be coming to Barnes and Noble

According to this story on Engadget, the Samsung E6 e-reader may be coming to Barnes and Noble. Given that it has a touch screen and a stylus pen for "inking," this could be the start of a new revolution of digital notepads that may gain tremendous popularity among those of us who wish to avoid paper at all costs.

The Nook is another e-reader that is built for Barnes and Noble, but the Nook has a small color touch screen section on the bottom (so you can't really take notes on the Nook), but it's another great option for people who don't want to write, but want to read.

Eventually, I think the majority of these e-readers (digital book readers) will come with color touch screens. The Apple iPad will be the first, but others will soon follow.

Samsung releases a pen-enabled eReader in Korea

Samsung has released a pen-enabled e-Reader in Korea. It's not a Kindle. It's not an iPad.  After seeing this picture, memories of the Apple Newton came flooding back. I really miss using the Newton. I loved the fact that I would write (or ink) my notes on the screen. I loved the fact that it had robust battery life (AA batteries).

Since the Apple iPad uses a capacitive touch screen, it's not designed for traditional pen-enabled inking and handwriting recognition.

Will handwriting recognition be a standard feature found in future e-readers?

Medical textbooks on the Apple iPad could revolutionize medical education

I'm sure that some medical schools have their medical students using the Apple iPad as an e-reader for medical textbooks. The Amazon Kindle is a great e-reader, but the lack of a color screen makes it suboptimal for medical students who rely on color-rich diagrams, images, etc. So, this is where the Apple iPad could fill that gap.

Can you imagine learning anatomy on an iPad? You won't be limited to static images. Imagine having the ability to click on an image, rotate it, zoom in, and then "peel away" layers of body parts. The iPad could be a tremendous learning tool for medical students. The "touch" aspect of the iPad makes this tool much easier to use compared to a laptop.

Imagine this: you click on the heart. Then, you can zoom in to see the actual muscle fibers. Then, you can zoom in even more to see light microscopic images of the heart. Then, zoom in even more, and you're now seeing electron microscope images.  The iPad could link images and videos of gross pathology with microbiology, pathology with physiology, etc. It could truly revolutionize the medical school experience.

Speaking of textbooks, the Wall Street Journal reports that ScrollMotion is collaborating with some major textbook publishers to transform classrooms into "e-classrooms."

Plastic Logic Que

According to the editors at PC World, the Plastic Logic Que was one of the "Best of CES 2010." Here's how they describe it:

E-readers were one of the hottest categories of the show this year, and the most compelling new model we've seen is the Plastic Logic Que. This 10.7-inch reader sports a capacitive-touch display that lets you gesture through page turns; it also downloads books from Barnes & Noble's e-book store. It will be available in April in a 4GB Wi-Fi version for $649, and an 8GB version with Wi-Fi and 3G for $799.

I'm not particularly excited about e-readers because I'm already a tablet user. I can read books on my tablets. So, why invest in a dedicated e-reader when I already have a device that does that already?

Full color digital readers coming soon

When computers first appeared in the hands of consumers, they came with grayscale (aka monochrome) displays. The same was true for laptops and PDAs. Now, we're seeing that trend repeated with digital book readers. Books generally use black ink on white paper, so who needs color?

As digital readers like the Amazon Kindle, the Sony Digital Reader, and the Barnes and Noble Nook continue to evolve into a type of tablet computer, the need for a color screen will become inevitable. Soon, we'll be back to a tablet PC, but these devices won't have the same type of processing capability as what's found in modern computers. Let's see when Apple releases the iSlate.

So how will these digital readers evolve? I think it's fair to predict that they will incorporate color screens, have Wi-Fi, and have Internet capabilities. They will also be capable of e-mail and some type of multimedia (such as browsing images, playing videos, etc.). Will they get classified as a mobile internet device or MID? Perhaps they will get called a tablet internet device or TID. That will get confusing for physicians who prescribe drugs TID (three times/day).

At the end of the day, they will resemble very simple tablet PCs. How will this impact the medical community? Will health care students and working professionals get more comfortable working with slate tablets?

Electronic book readers are becoming very popular

Electronic book (or e-book) readers are becoming very popular this holiday season. The Apple iPod revolutionized the digital music industry. I think we're witnessing a revolution within the digital book industry and we're only seeing the first and second generation models with the Kindle and Nook, so we know that significant changes will occur over the next few years. Of course, Sony has made several revisions to its digital reader, but nothing has been truly revolutionary yet.

Remember the first Apple iPod? How many people do you know who owned one of these devices? I'm talking about the one with the mechanical scroll wheel, a center select button, and 4 buttons around the wheel. It had a grayscale screen and it was expensive. If we look at iPods today, we see significant changes. Who would have thought that the original iPod would have evolved to the current iPod touch?

I'm sure we will see significant changes in e-book readers as well. In fact, my prediction is that we will see some convergence with mobile internet devices, multimedia players like the iPod touch, and e-book readers. As a result, grayscale screens will be a thing of the past. My big question right now is: who's going to release the first e-book reader that has a color screen?

More rumors about the Apple Tablet emerge

Rumors about the upcoming Apple Tablet seem to never end.

Here are some of the latest rumors circulating on the Internet:

• 10.1" multi-touch screen
• Release around March/April 2010
• Roughly $1,000 (yikes!)
• It will compete against other e-readers like the Nook and Kindle with a 30/70 revenue split (30% to Apple and 70% to publishers)
  

If this thing is really going to sell for $1k, then I'd have to think that this tablet will run OS X. If it's just an oversized iPod touch, then $1k seems way too ridiculous to me. $1k also is way too high for an e-reader that has a color screen, Internet, and some multi-media functionality.

So what's it going to be Apple? When will we see the real deal instead of all these fake images?

Nook vs. Kindle

I don't plan to buy an e-reader for myself this holiday season, but I think it would make a great holiday gift for a gadget lover. I'm not trying to hint at anything. I have too many gadgets. However, maybe you'd like to get something for your loved one. If you're considering an e-reader, you may be thinking about the Barnes and Noble Nook vs. the Amazon Kindle. So which should you get?

I think the answer really depends on a single factor: Does the user spend time at Barnes and Noble? If so, then go with the Nook. Otherwise, you're fine with the Kindle or the Nook. If you want something really BIG, then get the Kindle DX. The best feature of the Nook is that you can take it into a Barnes and Noble and you can read books on the device while you're sitting in the lounge or coffee shop.

If I were buying an e-reader, I'd get the Nook. I like to browse book covers in color. Plus, the closest Barnes and Noble is only a few minutes away and I'm frequently there with my kids.

Now keep in mind that Apple may be coming out with some type of e-reader/tablet sometime in 2010. Of course, earlier rumors indicated that the Apple Tablet would be released in 2009 but we know that's not going to happen. We can't wait forever because technology changes so rapidly, doesn't it? The minute you buy a gadget, it's on its way to becoming obsolete.

Read unlimited free e-books on the Nook by going to B&N

The Nook is one of the latest digital readers and it uses a novel concept: you can take the Nook into a Barnes and Noble and connect to the Wi-Fi network in the store. Once you're connected, you can read e-books for free while you're in the store. Brilliant!

Many people go to the book store to read books. Now, if you have a Nook, you can still go to the book store to read your book. Just sit in the cafe, drink your cup of tea or coffee, eat a snack, and read on the Nook.

The Nook is coming

Barnes and Noble is coming out with an e-book reader called the Nook. The Amazon Kindle will be facing some serious competition out there! Now, we have Sony, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and several other companies releasing e-book readers. I'm thinking that Borders will be next.

The Nook looks quite similar to the Kindle. Let's see how they compare when they get released into the hands of consumers, students, and health care professionals. Can you imagine going through medical school with one of these?

The QUE is coming from Plastic Logic

Look out Amazon Kindle! The QUE is an exciting e-book reader that will get announced in January. I wish I could attend CES in 2010, but I won't be attending. Maybe I'll get a chance in 2011.

The QUE is made by Plastic Logic.

Barnes and Noble has an e-book reader coming. That one will be called the Nook.

The line between an e-book reader and a tablet PC

Right now, a digital e-book reader (like the Amazon Kindle or the Sony Digital Reader) has a very focused purpose: books

In the near future, I believe they will evolve dramatically. They will incorporate color screens, have Wi-Fi (some already have this), a web browser, multimedia capabilities, e-mail, and much more. Wait, did I just describe a tablet PC?

As the prices of mobile computers continue to drop, it will only make sense to make these digital e-readers more powerful. They don't need to have all the capabilities of a full-featured tablet PC, but they will have enough so that you can get online, get some work done, and use it for entertainment.

My prediction is that the upcoming Apple tablet will be a device that will catapult the e-book reader audience to fall in love with additional tablet PC features. Eventually, these devices may be called "net-tablets" similar to the way we call mini notebooks a netbook. At some point, the line between a digital e-book reader and a tablet PC will get very blurry and we'll see so many overlapping features that we won't see dedicated readers that have a very focused purpose.

Barnes and Noble eReader

There was a period in my life when I used to spend all my time at a Barnes and Noble bookstore. I used to read, study, browse the web, and even tutor students at the bookstore. Now, B&N is feeling the heat because the Amazon Kindle has taken off and the future is e-book or e-reader technology. B&N is planning on working with Plastic Logic to create an e-book, but in the meanwhile, they're working on getting a head start. They've announced free eReader software for the Apple iPhone/iPod touch, BlackBerry, the PC, and the Mac. Where's Windows Mobile in all this? What about webOS on the Palm Pre or Google Android?

Well, I suppose if they can get many subscribers to start using this eReader software, then it'll be much easier to switch to the e-book made by Plastic Logic.

PC Magazine has reviewed the Barnes and Noble eReader software.

Bottom line:

Barnes & Noble joins the e-book fray but, unlike Amazon, doesn't make you buy an expensive reader. The Windows software is serviceable and the iPhone version outstanding, but the Mac version could stand beefing up.

Pros:

• Huge library of titles.
  
• Cross-platform support.
  
• Excellent iPhone reader.

Cons:

• Books can't be purchased within app.
  
• Bare-bones Mac version.

Do you see yourself migrating to an eReader of some type? I already do all my reading on my Thinkpad X200 tablet. Since it's a convertible tablet, I can swivel the screen and hold the machine in my hand when I'm on the plane. It's a great way to read PDFs.

7 Ways Every Medical Professional Can Use The Kindle

This is a guest post written by: Thomas Rheinecker

The Kindle is a new device that is changing the face of reading. No longer do you have to carry around every book you own to have the reliable information that they contain at your disposal. Research has been made easier with the rise of the internet, but finding reliable information can be difficult. You still do not always have access to the books that you need online so someone came up with an answer to this problem. That answer is the Kindle.

What Exactly Is The Kindle?

This is the place to start. Many people know what the Kindle is already, but many other have not even heard of it. Basically, the Kindle is an e-book reader. It allows you to download e-books and to read those books right on your Kindle.

It is not just another basic computer screen, however. It has what is called e-ink. While this new e-word may not have much meaning at first, it will once you understand what it means. E-ink refers to the fact that the display seeks to simulate the appearance of genuine printed material. It can be read in circumstances with low light. It also has a great battery life which is always a concern with any electronic device that you are likely to use for extended periods of time. Because it will allow you to read books, you will want it to last long enough for you to put in as much time reading as you wish.

The text is posted on the Kindle screen and is maintained in a static state. While other screens of this sort, such as television or computer screens, have their images refreshed on a regular basis the Kindle screen just maintains this image. This makes it much easier on the eyes.

7 Ways To Use It In The Medical Profession

1. You can download and read reference materials that you have read previously to refresh your memory. It could not get any easier with the Kindle.
2. You can seek out new textbooks to look for answers too. Seeking out symptoms, conditions, and other relevant information is easy.
3. You can view photos on the Kindle if you need to see pictures of various symptoms conditions.
4. Studying medical texts is possible right on the Kindle. You can highlight portions of texts and you can even make notes on the Kindle as you go along.
5. Further and sometimes faster research can be done on its built-in web browser.
6. Multiple books can be read at once so when doing research there is no need to carry around all the books you need when all are present on the one Kindle.
7. You can listen to music while you read. This is an attractive feature for those who do not enjoy reading for extended periods in complete silence.

The 7 ways that every medical professional can use the Kindle are really transferrable to anyone who reads books or who works with any written resources. The potential for this tool is just beginning to be explored and will surely come out in time. Medical professionals never need to worry about not having the right resource book available again and everyone can feel good about that.

Thomas Rheinecker is a freelance author and writes about medical career topics, such as how to choose an online ultrasound school, tips for job advancement, and more.

Everyone's Talking about the Kindle DX

There are polls everywhere. Engadget has a poll asking people, "would you buy a Kindle DX?" However, based on the responses, you can tell that no one is taking the poll seriously. Will college students like the Kindle DX? (maybe if all their textbooks are free). I've shared my opinion about the Kindle here: The Kindle DX is HUGE!
and: Rethinking the Kindle DX