eBook

Kindle's Library Lending service allows you to borrow eBooks from more than 11,000 participating libraries across the country

Previewed in April, Amazon's Kindle Library Lending service is now operational stateside. The service allows Kindle users to borrow eBooks from more than 11,000 participating libraries across the country.

The way it works is you visit the website of a U.S. library with support for OverDrive, and then check out a Kindle book by clicking "Get for Kindle," using your current library card.

The eBook will then be delivered to your Kindle via Wi-Fi or USB. Library Lending is supported on any device that has Amazon's Kindle application installed, which means it is available for multiple platforms including the PC, Android, iOS, Blackberry, Windows Phone and other new gadgets.

You can borrow any title from a library. There are no limitations, and you can still view real page numbers and synchronize notes, highlights and more across multiple devices.Read more

Amazon just announced Kindle Library Lending, a new feature launching later this year that will allow Kindle customers to borrow Kindle books from over 11,000 libraries in the United States. Kindle Library Lending will be available for all generations of Kindle devices and free Kindle reading apps.

Customers will be able to check out a Kindle book from their local library and start reading on any Kindle device or free Kindle app for Android, iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, PC, Mac, BlackBerry, or Windows Phone. If a Kindle book is checked out again or that book is purchased from Amazon, all of a customer's annotations and bookmarks will be preserved.

"We're excited that millions of Kindle customers will be able to borrow Kindle books from their local libraries," said Jay Marine, Director, Amazon Kindle. "Customers tell us they love Kindle for its Pearl e-ink display that is easy to read even in bright sunlight, up to a month of battery life, and Whispersync technology that synchronizes notes, highlights and last page read between their Kindle and free Kindle apps." Read more

Shopping for an eReader this holiday season? Kobo has a special holiday bundle going on right now for customers who buy a Kobo Wireless eReader – you can purchase it pre-loaded with one of five exclusive eBook bundles at www.koboreader.com – saving you up to $30. It's like giving two gifts in one!

Kobo offers a choice of eBook bundles featuring some of todays most popular and bestselling fiction, non-fiction, biographies and romance titles.

Available bundles are:

• Millennium Trilogy Bundle
• Alex Cross Series Bundle
• Hunger Games Bundle
• Vampire Diaries Bundle
• Nora Roberts Bundle

Read more

Do you have a reader on your gift list this year? Now you can give the gift of Kindle eBooks, even if the recipient doesn't own a Kindle device. All they need is an e-mail address! Kindle Books can be read on Kindle devices and free Kindle reading apps for iPad, iPod touch, iPhone, Mac, PC, BlackBerry and Android-based devices.

To give a Kindle Book as a gift, simply choose a book in the Kindle Store, select "Give as a Gift" and send the gift to anyone with an email address. Notifications of Kindle Books gifts are delivered instantly via e-mail and the recipient redeems the gift in the Kindle Store to read on any Kindle or free Kindle app.

Looking for eBook suggestions? Here are Amazon.com editors' picks for the best books of the year: Read more

Barnes & Noble has a new in-store promotion dubbed the Fun and Free eBook promotion giving customers five free eBooks over the next five weeks.

All you have to do to receive your free eBook is visit a Barnes & Noble store, show either a nook or BN eReader-software enabled device, and you will receive a special access code to unlock The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith this week and four other free reads in the coming weeks.

To redeem the free eBook, simply enter the weekly access code at www.bn.com/redeem and download the title to your Barnes & Noble digital library. Each access code can be redeemed through July 1, 2010. Titles included in the Fun and Free eBook promotion are The Long Tail by Chris Anderson, Home Safe by Elizabeth Berg, Storm Front by Jim Butcher, One Shot by Lee Childs and The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency by Alexander McCall Smith. Read more

Borders is jumping into the eReader game with the new Kobo eReader. Pre-loaded with the Borders eBook app, you can access eBooks wirelessly via Bluetooth or USB. The Kobo eReader also comes pre-loaded with 100 classic books and features 1GB memory to store up to 1000 eBooks.

The Kobo eReader features a quilted back, is just 10mm thick and weighs only 221 grams. Five font sizes are available, and up to a 4GB SD memory card can be added for storing up to 4000 eBooks.

"The Kobo eReader is the eReader for everyone and is now available in the U.S. – launching at Borders," said Michael Serbinis, CEO of Kobo. "At $149.99 the Kobo eReader is roughly $100 less than the other eReading devices out there, so it provides a great way to start eReading without breaking the bank. We couldn't be happier about partnering with a brand like Borders which shares our commitment to technological innovation, high quality, and customer value."Read more

Barnes & Noble announced a software update for its nook e-reader. Now, with version 1.3, nook owners can browse complete eBooks for free in Barnes & Noble stores. The company has also added a basic web browser and enhanced its Wi-Fi connectivity. The first Android apps are also now available on the device (games such as Chess and Sudoku).

With the update, nook owners can read any available eBook for up to an hour per day; and, coming soon, current-edition newspapers and magazines in the BN eBookstore will be available for up to 20 minutes per day.Read more

Spring Design announced this week that they are now shipping the dual screen Alex eReader, available online at www.springdesign.com.

The Android-based Alex eReader supports eBooks in EPUB, PDF, HTML and TXT formats. It also offers Internet browsing using WiFi connectivity, and later this year will also feature 3G and EVDO/CDMA connectivity.

A unique feature to Alex is the ability to multitask – you can listen to music while you read, supplement your eBook on the EPD screen with video on the LCD screen, search the Web or use email.

The Alex eReader comes with headphones, AC connector, USB cable, protective cover and supports MicroSD cards up to 32GB. It is now available for $399. Multi-language versions of Alex will soon be announced for countries speaking Chinese, Spanish, Russian, Korean and Hebrew.

If you went to your local Barnes & Noble to pick up the Nook yesterday (December 7th) and couldn't find it, there is a reason. According to Reuters, Barnes & Noble said they won't be shipping the Nook to stores until early 2010, totally missing the prime holiday shopping season.

Barnes and Noble's first objective is to fill pre-orders, a spokeswoman for the company said.

"For all the pre-orders, we have a commitment to customers to fulfill those orders on a first-come, first-served basis so we decided to hold off providing inventory to the stores until after the holidays," spokeswoman Mary Ellen Keating said.

Will this affect sales of the e-reader device? We'll just have to wait and see…