Electronic book readers have been available for quite some time now. The Franklin eBookman is generally considered to have been the first and launched in 1999, over a decade ago. Other readers slowly appeared – the Sony PRS launched in 2006 and the first Amazon Kindle hit the streets in November of 2007.

However, it wasn’t until 2009 that the popularity of e-book readers really rocketed. Amazon were very instrumental in this – the February launch of the Kindle 2.0, followed shortly after by the launch of the larger DX version in June produced a storm of publicity around e-book readers in general and the Kindle in particular. E-book readers were in the news, they were the hot, “must have” gadget of 2009. The Kindle reader quickly became the top selling product on Amazon and, during the 2009 festive gift giving bonanza, became Amazon’s “most gifted” product ever. Both Sony and Barnes and Noble had a good tilt at the Xmas sales by releasing their own new readers – but an inability to guarantee delivery in time for the big day coupled with the Kindle’s well established brand presence, meant that Amazon cleaned up at Christmas.

There is no shortage of e-book readers to choose from right now. There is a long, and impressive list, of manufacturers who now have their readers on the market, or who are developing them for release in the very near future. Industry analysts are anticipating that 2010 will be a big year for e-book readers and the level of sales is expected to increase.

What this represents, is the creation of a completely new market segment which, until very recently, simply wasn’t there. Over and above the manufacturers of the e-book reader devices themselves, this represents a significant development for traditional book publishers, educational authorities, suppliers of accessories and, of course, the customers who read the books at the end of the process.

The sudden emergence of this market segment has been good news for companies such as M-Edge who manufacture a wide range of Kindle accessories including covers, reading lights, chargers and so on. There are plenty of other accessory suppliers who are also benefiting. At the moment, there is a strong focus on accessories for the Kindle, but as the market expands and other readers gain in popularity these will also offer good opportunities to the independents.

The e-book reader market is, even now, still in its infancy. It is developing and expanding at an astonishing rate. Up to now, Amazon has been a strong influence in the development of the market and currently claims a 60% slice of the e-book reader market in the U.S. In 2010, their dominance will be challenged – as will the second position currently held by Sony with a smaller, but nonetheless very respectable, 35% market share. This e-book reader gold rush still affords plenty of opportunities for companies with the innovative skills and vision to take advantage and establish themselves now whilst the market is in a period of rapid growth.

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UK based Plastic Logic has now revealed its e-book reader – the Que – which may compete with Amazon’s Kindle e-book reader. The lightweight Que, which incorporates touch screen controls, was put on display at the CES in Las Vegas.

More than ten years of research and development work has gone into the Que at Cambridge University in the UK. The R&D program is estimated to have cost more than $ 200m.

The reader incorporates wireless connectivity using 3G technology and it has a huge black and white screen. The selling price is quite a bit higher than Amazon’s Kindle and, according to Plastic Logic, it is aimed at “mobile professionals”.

There are two models. The 4GB model retails at $ 649 and the 8 GB has a price tag of $ 799. The Kindle 2.0 and the larger Kindle DX (which is probably a closer fit to the Que) sell for $ 259 and $ 489 respectively. The 4GB model has sufficient memory for around 35,000 documents. The 8GB model will hold 75,000 documents – equivalent to 75 filing cabinets.

The Que is, according to Plastic Logic, “more than an eReader”. It has an enormous 10.7″ shatterproof display – currently the largest e-book reader display in the world. Apart from the huge size, the other noteworthy feature of the display is that it is made from plastic rather than glass. This means that it is more durable, lighter and surprisingly flexible.

The device measures 8.5 X 11 X 0.33 inches overall and weighs in at less than a periodical – just under one pound. Having a Que is quite similar to carrying a legal pad around with you.

The fact that the Que is more than an e-book reader hasn’t stopped Plastic Logic agreeing a deal with Barnes and Noble who will furnish electronic books for the device. Partnerships with newspapers, such as USA Today, have also been agreed.

Que users will be able to choose from over 700,000 titles on the Barnes and Noble website. Amazon have around 400,000 Kindle titles available on their Kindle store – but these are being added to at a rate of a little over 500 each day.

The Que will begin shipping in mid-April 2010. Customers can buy it from either the Que website or from the Barnes and Noble website. It’s difficult to predict if Amazon will be truly concerned. It may be that the Que is genuinely more than an e-book reader – in which case the two devices will be operating in different market segments. On the other hand, if they do wind up competing for the same customer base then, even without the price advantage that the Kindle enjoys, Amazon probably have good reason to feel quietly confident that their Kindle family will be able to see off this latest “Kindle Killer”.

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Unless you’ve been on another planet for the past ten months, you must have seen the buzz surrounding the Amazon Kindle. In February 2009, Amazon launched their Kindle 2 reader. A little later, in June, the large format Kindle DX was released.

The Kindle has now, in a very short time, become Amazon’s number one selling product. At the moment it is lapping up an incredible 60% share of the American e-book reader market. Amazon have now launched the Kindle 2 on the international stage – selling to more than 100 countries worldwide. A similar high level of success in the global market seems very likely.

Amazon’s Kindle is now virtually synonymous with e-book readers – but it is far from the only show in town. Consumer electronics manufacturers such as Apple, Microsoft, Sony and Barnes and Noble – to cite just a few examples from a very long list – all have their own e-book readers due for release in the immediate future. There is going to be cut-throat competition in the e-book market. In a way, it’s a compliment to Amazon that virtually any e-book reader in development which shows the slightest promise is immediately named the “Kindle Killer”.

The Kindle 2 is priced at $ 259. That represents a $ 100 reduction on the $ 359 launch price. That’s still a fairly high price. Many industry analysts estimate that a ticket price around the $ 150 mark is what’s required to allow e-book readers to move out of the high tech gadget market and into the mainstream consumer arena. Certainly, the higher levels of competition that looks set for next year will produce a downward pressure on the price of e-book readers, which may mean that the $ 150 price point is reached during 2010.

If you’ve been considering treating yourself to a Kindle but have been holding off due to the cost of the device, then it might be worthwhile looking at the overall financial picture. E-books generally cost a fair a bit less than traditional paper books. They don’t use paper, ink or bindings and have no delivery costs. If you get through a book a week then you could recoup the price of your Kindle in just a few months.

Even better than cheap e-books, you can download a large selection of totally free e-books direct from Amazon’s Kindle store. Many of the free books are classics which are now out of copyright – Gulliver’s Travels, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, Sherlock Holmes are just a few examples. You will also find more recent releases, possibly on special offer from publishers. In addition to completely free e-books, there are many books included among Amazon’s 360,000 Kindle titles which are available for a purely nominal fee – $ 0.01 is really quite common. You could very easily get the cost of your Kindle reader back just by using free, or low price, books for your Kindle.

Discover how easy it is to legally download free Kindle ebooks and make your Amazon Kindle reader pay for itself in no time.

As an eco-friendly conscious company, Panasonic continues to leave its mark for helping the environment. They have donated several rugged laptops to the Wildlife Trust Scientists to assist them in important research out in the field. The long battery life of these products as well as their rugged design allows efficient use in extreme weather conditions.

Panasonic knows that many of their products assist us in our daily life. Our workday consists of the use of laptops, phones and other items that could be harmful to the environment. They strive to reduce the harmful impact these products have on the environment by working with recyclable parts when they can.

As consumers become more aware of the impact of electronics on the environment, we are choosing to support more green conscious companies. Panasonic recently did a recycle drive with Minnesota and Maine and collected over 1.2 million pounds of old and non-working electronics. It’s nice to see a large company doing their part to protect our environment.

We have seen time and time again laptops thrown out after one to two years in the field. The effect this can have on our environment is huge. Panasonic Toughbooks will give field workers an efficient productivity tool and with a longer life expectancy which means less impact on the environment.

In addition, Toughbooks computers have other factors that make them improved and safer for the environment. Batteries that have longer life spans and require fewer charges make Toughbooks hands above the rest. Having a reliable battery life in the field eliminates the loss valuable time and money due to battery failure.

With all of this said, Panasonic is dedicated to continuing to manufacture eco-friendly mobile computers for daily use. In addition, they continue to work on making all of their manufacturing plants accredited Clean Factories. It’s nice to know that 98% of the waste they generate in production is recyclable.

Other eco-friendly tips you can apply to your day to day operation are things like unplugging your computer. This eliminates all power consumption which in turn saves energy. Using electrical strips can eliminate power to all peripherals.

For those companies who must leave power on, choose settings that will allow your computer to go into hibernate mode thus reducing the power consumption up to 80%. Liquid crystal display flat screen monitors use way less energy. Donating an old computer to a child or school is a great way to recycle.

As we continue to work together, we can make a difference. Recycle old laptops properly by checking with the manufacture or your local community center for information. Work from home on your new Panasonic Toughbooks and do your part to help the environment by saving on gas.

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Netbook computers are the small nine to ten inch laptop computers that are being seen in many stores today. The concept of the netbook computer is not new, but technology to make them at an affordable price has increased their popularity.

At first glance, you may notice that there are several things that are missing from the netbook computer. The first you may notice is that there is no DVD or CD rom in this machine. Programs for these computers must be installed through use of a USB drive or downloaded from the internet.

Some of the netbooks do not even have a hard drive, but use a solid state memory device that is like the memory used in a thumb drive. This memory is more shock resistant than a hard drive as well as being smaller in size and lighter in weight, however, the memories are much smaller than that typically used in larger laptops.

If more memory is needed, the Netbook can easily be connected to a USB external hard drive. Prices for external hard drives have also dropped recently. A one TB (1000 MB) external hard drive can easily be bought for $100 or less.

You will not find a phone modem capability for most of the smaller computers either, although all of these computers that are now being sold are equipped with WiFi connections. For home use, you will need a wireless router, but in public, the computer can access the web at almost any hot spot.

Originally netbook computers were sold with operating systems other than the current version of windows. For quite some time Windows NT was not offered on these little computers, although it was eventually offered. Now the netbooks are being sold with a netbook version of Windows 7.

Prices on netbook computers began to fall around Christmas of 2008. As prices continue to fall, some will sell for under $175 on Black Friday of 2009.

The size of a netbook computer makes them very handy for transportation. A nine inch netbook will easily fit into a woman’s purse and a nine to twelve inch computer can fit into almost any men’s briefcase.

One of the things that has made these computers even more useful is that there have been many web based applications. Google has lead the way in many of the applications, allowing documents, photos and other data to be stored online. Since hard drive space is not required and data can be accessed by anyone with a password, work can be done on a desktop computer and accessed by the netbook.

Netbooks are becoming very popular as a first computer. Their smaller size makes it easier for little hands to learn the keyboard and teens like the computers for the small size and convenient carrying. Online features give access to favorite online games, research and many other resources. When homework is prepared on the netbook, it can be printed on any printer that can be accessed through WiFi.

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This has been a really important year for e-book readers, thanks largely to the work of Amazon. The Kindle 2 – an improved and upgraded version of Amazon’s original Kindle – was released in February 2009.

In June of 2009, Amazon released the Kindle DX, a large display version of the Kindle 2. It was quite deliberately aimed at readers of magazines, newspapers and academic textbooks – and it caused quite a commotion.

The academic establishment immediately saw the potential – from textbooks with interactive modes, to constantly updated text – and the potential to save money was certainly there as well. Amazon, in addition to entering into partnership agreements with a number of colleges and universities, got a high level of free publicity from the political scene. Arnold Schwarzenegger, in his role as Governor of California, and the New Democratic Leadership Council – which numbers Hillary Clinton among its members – both waxed lyrical about the opportunities afforded by digital textbooks in general and the Kindle in particular.

As a result of Amazon’s innovation and foresight – and greatly helped by free publicity – the Kindle has now become Amazon’s number one selling product. At the moment, the Kindle has an amazing 60% share of the American e-book reader market, and an international version has recently been launched. The Kindle is now synonymous with e-book readers.

It’s probably worth reflecting upon the fact that Amazon were a late entrant to the e-book reader market. The original e-book reader, generally agreed to be the Franklin eBookman, was launched a decade ago in’99. Even Sony’s PRS reader beat Amazon to market.

Amazon, although not first to market, combined clever marketing with technical innovation and a strong focus on customer needs and achieved the dominant position in the e-book reader market. Features such as the large number of books available for download to the Kindle (currently 360,000 and growing every day) and wireless connectivity were just as critical to the Kindle’s success as technical functionality.

Now that Amazon has – practically single handed – developed the market, it looks like every man and his dog want a piece of the action. Apple, Sony, Microsoft, Barnes and Noble, iRex, Plastic Logic, Asus – the list continues – all have their own readers due for release or in the late stages of the development cycle.

Amazon’s current unique selling point – wireless connectivity – will soon become standard and users of Barnes and Noble’s new Nook reader will be able to choose from over 1,000,000 titles on Barnes and Noble’s website. The new Daily Edition reader from Sony will let users borrow books from participating lending libraries. In 2010, there will probably be some convergence on a standard e-book format which will allow users to lend e-books to friends and family or transfer them over to other e-book readers should they so wish.

Currently many industry analysts are casting their eye over the new readers and trying to predict which of them will be the long awaited Kindle killer. Whilst the competition is impressive, Amazon has shown a lot of commercial awareness thus far, so don’t expect them to yield the number one slot without a fierce struggle. After the launch of the original Kindle it took less than eighteen months for Amazon to launch the hugely improved Kindle 2. The DX followed just a few months later. You can be sure that Amazon has plans for the future development of the Kindle. Could it be that the real Kindle killer will be the Kindle 4 and that we might see this in 2010?

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We are progressing into times when many of our employees are working in more extreme measures than in previous years. Due to this fact, we are faced with many laptop computers that just aren’t up to par for these rough working conditions. With the Panasonic laptops you no longer need to worry about spillage, dust, dirt or dropping.

Providing your workers with the tools to be effective in the field is becoming a solution many companies are choosing. More productivity means more profit. Time is money so why not make as much as possible by switching to the Panasonic Toughbooks laptop for your everyday tough jobs.

Many of today’s computer manufacturers do not take the outside world in mind when they design and build their computers. Adding up the cost of repairing downed computers coupled with the productivity lost during down time, you end up paying more than you intended. Make your next computer purchase a smart one by choosing the Panasonic Toughbooks for cost effective mobile computing.

The yearly crash rate of Toughbooks mobile computers is approximately seven times less than the industry average. Virtually no down time, reliability, rugged, business friendly laptops that work in any climate or condition. Why would you choose any other computer when Panasonic Toughbooks are available?

With today’s trying times in business, we need to look at other ways of cutting costs. Many companies do not consider the cost of IT personnel who work on downed computers, retrieval of data, productivity lost; which all lead to dollars lost. Don’t waste those valuable dollars when you can purchase a Panasonic Toughbooks and work while other can not.

Today’s consumer can expect a lot for their money when they purchase a Panasonic Toughbooks laptop. From sealed LCD touch screens to protect them from dust and moisture to durable alloy covers to protect the laptop from bumps, drops and knocks. Whatever you need to get you up and running you will find in a Panasonic Toughbooks.

Laptop batteries are constantly a challenge. Panasonic Toughbooks has eliminated this problem with its battery that will work up to 10 hours on some models. They are equipped with an incredible bright LCD touch screen that’s easier to read in the daylight as well as sturdy handles for easy transport.

Panasonic Toughbooks have designed a selection of personal laptops that meet the needs of its user. Ruggedness that allows for continued use in extreme conditions. Uninterrupted connectivity that is essential to working remotely which in turn allows for more productivity in the field.

Utilizing the essential tools necessary to create effective working situations regardless of location is what Panasonic Toughbooks strives for. Fact; Toughbooks laptops provide increased productivity with a lower failure rate which means higher return on your investment. Panasonic Toughbooks can help take your company to the next level so what are you waiting for?

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These days, it’s probably fair to say that many of us are more environmentally conscious. We are not about to turn into a nation of eco-warriors overnight, but the most people are quite willing to make a little extra effort to be greener. And that’s fine – it is actually a broad range of small changes by a large number of people that tends to make the biggest difference. The good news is that as well as being more environmentally friendly you can save both time and money at the same time.

For example, a recent study carried out by Carnegie Melon University clearly showed that online shopping has a lower environmental impact than the traditional method of buying from retail outlets. One example used in the study was the purchase of a flash memory stick, and it was found the environmental impact of the traditional retail method was 35% greater than making an identical purchase using the internet.

A parallel study – carried out by CleanTech – found that the carbon footprint of a standard printed book was 7.5 kg of CO2 over its useful lifespan. However, this figure was increased by a factor of two if the customer got into their car, drove to the store, purchased their book and then drove home again instead of having it delivered in the mail.

Roughly speaking, 65% of the emissions associated with traditional shopping methods are a consequence of the customer’s transport to the store and the return journey home.

Shopping online is not only better from an environmental perspective – it can save you time and you will frequently find what you’re looking for at a lower price. You can maximize the environmental benefits further just by choosing the right product type.

If you opt to buy electronic books as opposed to the conventional printed type, you will save on paper, ink and the energy required for the printing and binding process. In general, e-books are available at a lower price than the printed versions – and you will save on gas as well. You can even subscribe to get magazines and newspapers delivered to e-book readers such as the Amazon Kindle reader every day.

Likewise, if you opt to download music to your PC or mp3 player, you will save on CDs, packaging and distribution emissions. Downloading movies, which you can now do from Amazon, iTunes and a host of other sites also has both financial and environmental benefits.

So when it comes to buying on the web, why not consider a two pronged attack. Firstly, if you can avoid a trip to the store in your car by buying online then that will generally be a good option. Secondly, if you can substitute downloadable products for physical ones then not only will you be doing your bit for the environment – but you will save time and money into the bargain.

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Have you read about the ASUS Eee PC Seashell 1005HA-PU17-BU 10.1-Inch Blue Netbook? If not you are probably missing out. It is what is big in lightweight laptops.

The little wonder is called the. ’seashell netbook. ‘ because its shell was inspired by sea shells. The attraction of a seashell, with its exterior beauty and internal pearl is captured in this tiny notebook. Purchase the blue one, but try to stop staring at it long enough to open it.

What’s inside the Asus Eee Pc Seashell laptop is just as impressive as what’s outside. Included with the system is an Intel Atom CPU running the Windows. It has memory upgradeable to 2GB and plenty of hard drive space. But unlike other tiny laptops, it includes Hybrid storage. Hybrid storage is a combination of online and internal storage. With it, you can access information anywhere that you can access the web. Speaking of the internet, it of course comes with wifi, Bluetooth, and a webcam.

Like many lightweight laptops for the internet, battery life is a deciding factor on what to purchase. This little notebook was considerate of this when it created a battery that last up to 10. 5 hours. With a combination of energy saving processor, display, and what Asus calls the Super Hybrid Engine, this little giant can literally last all day long.

It last long, is easy to carry and is built for comfort. The tiny notebook is only 10 inches and weighs less than 10 pounds, but it is not built too cramped to use. The ergonomic keyboard is 92% as large as standard keyboards, and the large keypad makes controls easier. It also has multiple ports, Kensington lock port, and an internal media card reader.

Why do all of these features make the ASUS Eee PC Sea shell 1005HA-PU17-BU 10.1-Inch Blue Netbook what’s big? It is probably because the MSRP is less than $400. That makes this laptop hard to ignore.

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