New Nook HD, Nook Tablet, Glowing Nook, Simple Touch

Eleven Nooks to choose from, including the original Nook Color.


All images this page Image Credit: http://alturl.com/uyket

We have so many remarkable choices now for libraries loaning eReaders and tablets. So many great devices for any size library budget.

 

 We have the Nook Color, the B/W original Nooks and two B/W Sony's. We have iPads, Kindle Fires, original K1's, K2's, K3's and Kindle DX. Students are really fascinated with our collection.

For those libraries just getting started in this ever changing technological arena, it's the training of staff and scheduling maintenance that's important to consider in your purchases, not just the cost of the device.  We have been implementing eReaders since 2008. As the devices get more sophisticated, the more time required updating and cleaning the internal devices.

With Amazon coming out with new Kindle models and Apple announcing a possible 7" iPad Oct. 23rd, it will make the choice even more difficult. I would like to stay within the area of Kindles, Nooks and iPads to help keep some sense of stability with our inventory. Not that we wouldn't try a new company's device, but for now, our inventory is servicing our needs quite well for students, faculty and staff.

 

Next blog:

New Kindles and the New Smaller iPad



Nook HD+ 9" screen
 

Nook Tablet 7" touchscreen
8GB $179
16GB $199

The Glowing Nook
Nook Simple Touch with Glowlight $119
6" Touchscreen 7 oz.

Nook Simple Touch B/W $99

Nook Color 7"
$149
Original price last Fall...$199

 

 

 

Watch the Olympics Live on our iPads

Check out an iPad for 3 hours and watch the Olympics Live!

Image Credit http://www.nbcolympics.com/index.html

Here's the Olympic schedule:  http://alturl.com/9nge6

Stop by the Circulation Desk on the 3rd floor of the library at the Lake Worth campus.

After you check out the iPad, sign into Panther Web, click on the Olympics icon, then the London Live Extra app.

Follow the directions and NBC will give you a temporary 4 hour pass to watch the Olympics Live. 



Image Credit: C. Shaffer



Apple Rumors: 8 inch iPad? 3 different iPad3's? 8 GB iPad? Dual processor iPad3? iPad 2S or iPad 2X? Apple Announcement on March 7th

Apple Event in San Francisco March 7th

Image Credit:http://http://alturl.com/gndif

We have found so countless rumors concerning the March 7th announcement for the new iPad3 release concerning the level, mid-range and high-end market divisions.  Maybe an 8 inch iPad, 8GB iPad2  or iPad3, iPad2s or iPad2x and the new iPad3 with dual processor...Quad core A6 CPU or Logic Board with A5X?

 The rumor mill is endless!

 The competition with the new Kindle Fire's and Nook Color, size and price seems to be key.  Rather than rehash these rumors in this blog, click on the links below that interest you and review the rumors.  Let's see which ones come true. We will be on Spring Break at Palm Beach State College the week of the big announcement and we will get back to this blog the week of March 12.

Image Credit: http://alturl.com/gndif

Feb. 29th Apple rumored to release 3 different versions of iPad3.

From CBS News "techtalk", we find the latest 'new' rumors surfacing of three possible models of iPad 3. The link below reports that 9to5Mac is claiming sources close to Apple revealed this information. This also cites earlier speculation by DigiTimes that Apple gave two versions of the new tablet to "upstream partners for development," code, called J1 and J2.

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-57387950-501465/apple-may-release-three-versions-of-ipad-3/



March 1st  iPad News from DigiTimes

http://www.digitimes.com/news/a20120229PD220.html

Feb. 14th- 8 inch iPad?

http://blogs.denverpost.com/techknowbytes/2012/02/14/tablet-news-8-inch-ipad-and-galaxy-note-release-date/3280/

Feb. 22nd

Rumor mill is endless... Quad core A6 CPU  or Logic Board with A5X

http://ziarra.net/2012/02/22/ipad-3-specs-release-date-and-other-rumors/




Image Credit: http://alturl.com/gndif

 

Image Credit: http://alturl.com/x85r2


Feb. 9th

Thicker and Sharper?

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-501465_162-57373866-501465/apple-ipad-3-rumors-thicker-sharper-coming-soon/

Feb. 10th $299-$399 iPad2?

Analysts are predicting that Apple will lower the price of the iPad 2 when they the release the iPad 3.

http://www.fiercecio.com/techwatch/story/apples-ipad-3-will-be-unveiled-first-week-march-says-report/2012-02-10

Feb. 21st- iPad User Satisfaction Chart



Image Credit: http://alturl.com/cykb7

Feb. 21-Office for iPad?
http://blogs.computerworld.com/19754/apple_ipad_3_retina_display_rumors_intensify_office_for_ipad_imminent

Feb. 10th-Apple's iPad 3 will be unveiled first week of March, says report - FierceCIO:TechWatch

http://www.fiercecio.com/techwatch/story/apples-ipad-3-will-be-unveiled-first-week-march-says-report/2012-02-10#ixzz1nKMZwYv7



Image Credit: http://alturl.com/gndif



Steve Jobs-Apple Memorial Today Oct 19-Stores Will Close-Private Memorial Stanford University Oct 16th

Image credit http://alturl.com/8mqc5

Today Apple stores will close for a few hours as employees watch a webcast of a company-wide memorial service to celebrate the life of the co-founder. http://alturl.com/2fi3n

Sunday evening at Stanford University's Memorial Church, a memorial service commemorated Apple's late co-founder Steve Jobs. A small private funeral was held earlier for family and close friends.  In a private ceremony, he was buried at a non-denominational cemetery.   Governor Jerry Brown of California declared Sunday as "Steve Jobs Day". A company memorial is scheduled today, Wednesday Oct. 19.
 
Mr. Jobs struggled for years with pancreatic cancer, has been credited as a visionary. He ushered a string of successful products, including the iPad the iMac, the iPod, the iPhone and Apple's iTunes music store. Steve Jobs masterminded Apple's U-turn from approaching bankruptcy in 1996.   He turned it into the world's most highly treasured technology company.

The innovative iPad is used here at the college for 50% academic and 50% leisure purposes by students, faculty and staff.  We can't keep these devices on the shelf. I'm not quite sure what technology would be like without Mr. Jobs' mix of extreme creativity and technology.  He has truly brought us into the future of not only the iPad technology, but giving others his contagious enthusiasm, energy and drive to excel.

 Even at our state college library we are re-thinking how we can assist students by adding eTextbooks to these exceptional devices.  We can only hope Steve Jobs' insanely different creativity will continue to be cultivated in others.  Mr. Jobs will be a very challenging act to follow.

Steve Jobs Seven Rules of Success

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/44927209

Do what you love

Put a dent in the universe

Make connections

 Say no to 1,000 things

Create insanely different experiences

Master the message

Sell dreams, not products

Quote from this article by Carmine Gallo 10/17/2011 Entrepreneur.com 

"There's one story that I think sums up Jobs' career at Apple. An executive who had the job of reinventing the Disney Store once called up Jobs and asked for advice. His counsel? Dream bigger. I think that's the best advice he could leave us with. See genius in your craziness, believe in yourself, believe in your vision, and be constantly prepared to defend those ideas."



Project Gutenberg "Free eBooks" founder, Michael S. Hart, passes away...



Image credit: http://hart.pglaf.org/



Project Gutenberg founder, Michael S. Hart, the first producer of free eBooks, died Sept. 6, 2011.

Link for full obituary:   

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Michael_S._Hart

Mr. Hart is known for his 1971 invention of electronic books. Project Gutenberg is recognized as one of the "earliest and longest-lasting online literary projects", according Dr. Gregory B. Newby.

Dr. Newby also spoke of Mr. Hart's project that began on July 4, 1971. After being inspired by a free printed copy of the U.S. Declaration of Independence, he typed the text into a computer and transmitted it to other users on the computer network.

Dr. Newby continues...

"From this beginning, the digitization and distribution of literature was to be Hart's life's work, spanning over 40 years." 

Image credit: http://hart.pglaf.org/

Michael Hart's Online Writings

http://hart.pglaf.org/

One of Michael Hart's quotes;

“If what you did yesterday still seems great today,

Then your goals for tomorrow are not big enough.”

Image credit: http://hart.pglaf.org/

For more information about Project Gutenberg:

http://www.gutenberg.org/

iCloud-What's the "cloud" anyways? This is a stretch, but are we getting a little closer to that one platform arena for mobile devices and eBooks?

Image credit: http://alturl.com/qtmea



Fox Science Editor Jeremy Kaplan defines a "cloud" as in mega virtual media data storage for public or private use. http://alturl.com/afw8t

iCloud announcement today at 10am Pacific Time

Apple is going to Unveil iCloud to Deflect Google Android

http://alturl.com/46bc7

http://alturl.com/9wjw9

Image Credit: http://alturl.com/s43zq

Google buys mega media data storage for virtual storeroom!

Image credit: http://alturl.com/6hd4d

"What We’re Reading About the Cloud!"
http://alturl.com/oa8gp 

"Think iCloud is reactionary? Think again."
http://alturl.com/ugqnr

“Apple, Google and Amazon are three of the most dominant companies not only in the Internet space, but generally in business.” http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/06/04/apple-icloud-cloud-music_n_871186.html

See the very interesting comments at end of this article about paying for 'cloud' storage.



E-reader Boom:

The Palm Beach Post Front Page Article Today

E-reader Boom:

"Best of Times, Worst of Times"



Elegant New Skiff Reader 11.5-inch http://alturl.com/isa9r

The Post Times article linked below covers information about new E-readers showcased in Las Vegas at the Consumer Electronics Show and the closing of Boca Raton's Barnes & Noble store.

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/e-reader-boom-might-prove-bookstores-long-term-1168717.html

Media Reviews of the

Consumer

Electronics Show:

http://www.cesweb.org/news/coverage.asp Links to media reviews
http://alturl.com/gt36r Includes Tablets and iPad success
http://alturl.com/8gm85 Covers 8 trends to watch including tablets
http://alturl.com/agadq Includes  e-readers and tablets
http://alturl.com/xpjib   Kindle vs. Nook vs. iPad vs. Galaxy Tab:

This is going to be one exciting year in

technology and libraries-2011!

One Book-One College Kick Off Event Jan. 12th

This book is also available on our digital e-readers!  



One Book One College Kick Off event: 

January 12, 2011  (11:30am – 1:30pm) 

LLRC Gallery 2^nd floor. 

 Complimentary copies of books will be given to the students whose classes participate in the Read Together activities. 

The kick-off event will be Wednesday, Jan. 12. 

Please join other students, faculty and staff as we read together.

Here are some quotes from Amazon's book reviews: 

The book tells about a man who has just found out he was dying so he speaks of

 "seizing every moment" ...because... "time is all you have...

and you may find one day that you have less than you think".

The Last Lecture is about living, not about dying. 

 It's full of warmth, humor, and can be very inspiring to all who choose

to make this a "Spring Thing" to do this semester:]

http://alturl.com/cn84c

The culminating week will be National Library Week

April 10 - 16, 2011

Student Critique of iPad in the College Classroom

Like  &  Dislikes

http://www.apple.com/ipad/

Last week my colleague asked a student to critique the iPad for us.  The student was already familiar with the Kindle DX.  It was very kind of Vaughn to take the time to evaluate how this helps or hinders his work while taking a class here at Palm Beach State.  Below find a summary of his remarks.

What he likes:
Ability to integrate professor's online notes and textbook material while in the classroom

Ability to take notes and relate these to the lesson plans

Using online materials for instant references when using textbooks and listening to professor's lectures. This is a great feature for visual learners.

What he dislikes:
Using the Kindle app on iPad gives the look and feel of using a Kindle

As a business major, I'm not able to use some business apps such as spreadsheets.

Not able to load learning websites such as myspanishlab.com which is used for Spanish 1 & 2

Vaughn's Overall Comments:
I think the iPad is a great investment for the college that offers a wonderful and unique learning tool for students.  I would certainly suggest that the college get more of these units.

When Vaughn returned the iPad and Kindle DX, he also made these verbal comments. This is my summary of our conversation that day.

He said it was wonderful to be able to zip back and forth when studying from his textbook on the iPad and getting references and the ability to verify his resourses from the our library online to complement his work.  He really enjoyed using the iPad in class to use notes from the teacher's website.  Vaugh said the glare wasn't bad during the day, but was noticeable at night. 

Thank You!

 Thanks again Vaughn for sharing your review of the iPad and letting

us post your comments on our blog:]

E-Textbooks expected to grow by 11% by 2013

E-textbooks:
11% growth by 2013
4% by this end of this year

See link below for new info about e-texbooks and the projection for growth in the near future.
Article from Reuters, US Edition
Sept. 15th, 2010


http://alturl.com/yehuq

Samsung Galaxy Tab-Sneek Preview

http://alturl.com/pcpte

Entering the European markets September and October

[According to the site above, none of these stats are confirmed]

1.0GHz ARM S5PC110 processor 

 Android 2.2 Froyo doing OS duty

 7 inch screen 800 x 480 pixel

  3.2 mega pixel rear camera and tiny front-facing shooter

 Swype keyboard, Flash along with WiFi, Bluetooth and GPS

http://alturl.com/efot6

Both picture-taking and video chat with front and back mounted cameras

 Weight 380 grams (0.8 pounds) is considerably less than the iPad

iPad weighs 680 grams (1.5 pounds) without 3G and 730g (1.6 pounds) with it.

Samsung says the Galaxy Tab will run Adobe Systems' Flash Player 10.1,

[more games available over the Web]

High-definition video for at least 7 hours on a single charge and

 perform less strenuous tasks for much more than 10 hours

 Android 2.2, called Froyo, but will be upgradable to 3.0, called Gingerbread

http://alturl.com/ocgsa

No launch date- No pricing-No network announced yet

 7-inch capacitive touch screen with a 1,024x600 Wide Super VGA (WSVGA) resolution

 Android 2.2 (Froyo), the complete Google apps Market, Flash 10.1, 16GB or 32GB of memory, GPS

Plus integrated sensors, such as a gyroscope, accelerometer, light sensor, and geomagnetic sensor

Promises, Promises!

We'll have to wait to see how this compares to iPad.

It looks like we might see this item in the US near the end of the year. It's going to be crazy for new buyers to make a decision during the holidays for gift giving. If you are interested in e-readers for your library, you might want to browse our older posts.

The Amplified Edition on iPad July 20th!

Ken Follett's novel, "The Pillars of the Earth" was released yesterday on iPad as an Amplified Edition. What does this mean? Full text with a truly integrated multimedia experience!

Combines text, film clips and music
*Contextual video clips at corresponding points in the book

*Interviews with the author

*Video diary from Mr. Follett

*Audio clips

Also included:

*Sketches of the set where the miniseries was filmed

*Selections from the soundtrack

*Family tree with background of different characters

*Video clips of actors discussing their roles

This is a Penguin-Starz project with Apple, giving readers extensive excerpts from the TV production from the miniseries that begins this Friday, July 23. Readers will get a chance to see the imagery, architecture, music and clothing from this time period.

Each week of the miniseries, you can download new content to your iPad, iPhone or iPod, as the TV mini-series continues. Downloads are $12.99 from iTunes. Reese Marino from the San Jose Book Examiner says it's like an "e-book on steroids".

This 1st Amplified Edition will give us a sneak preview of what multimedia/interactive textbooks will be like for our students. This is an exciting time to be in education on both sides of the desk:]

What's next? Textbooks on steroids?

Prices "slashed" on e-readers!

Not a surprise!

Kindle2's are now $189, originally $259.

The original Kindle1's were $359 in their beautiful marketing box.

Barnes & Noble's NOOK dropped their price to $199, originally $259.

They also introduced a new Wi-Fi version, minus the 3G for $149.

iPads are great fun and educational!

It's been really fun using the iPad!

It's great to hear all the ohhh's and awwwh's from students, faculty and staff, over the ease of use, terrific graphics and all the fun apps.

I have not read any of the books we purchased, and would like to see if it's as easy to read several chapters on the iPad as it is with the Kindle without eye strain.

Hopefully this weekend, time will permit spending some quality time with the iPad.

We loaded 3 books for a variety; Stones in Schools by Greg Mortenson, Water for Elephants by Sara Gruen, and a little sci-fi by Jim Butcher, Storm Front.

Some have noticed quite a glare from the glass, and that's the only complaint. The Wi-Fi card is not as strong as our laptops, so we don't find a quick connection at every area of the library. If we go outside to get connected, and walk back inside, it usually stays. Our next set will have at least one 3G unit.

Only problem we have run into is loading iTunes on our PC's. Why? We have Deep Freeze on our PC's, which prevents us from downloading new software. We used our MacBook Pro, but it had an older version of iTunes, and we needed Ver. 9.1. IT came to our rescue and loaded the new version on the MacBook Pro and within minutes we had our update, iPads connected, configured and up and running with 3 books purchased. I would also suggest charging up the iPad for at least 1 hour before you get started, using the power cable, not the USB cable, as the USB takes longer to charge.

Good News for libraries: To purchase a book, we have to use a password, not a '1-click' to buy, like the Kindle. Once you're in the store and purchase one book with a password, you can keep ordering books for that session. This process will help us keep track of our inventory. Patrons can browse the store for books and download samples, but they can't purchase.

It was a crazy morning getting the equipment set up, for our raffle, before the first patrons could borrow the iPads. If you are about to set out on this journey or purchasing any other digital e-readers, please give yourself plenty of time to set these up without being in a rush.

We hope in the very near future, Apple will have more news about the 5 major publishing companies and e-textbooks to help students defray the cost of books for their college education.

April 3rd iPad arrives!

Did you pre-order your iPad?

We did! We hope to receive our shipment Saturday April 3rd or Monday, April 5th. There is a limit of 2 in the pre-order and then the rest will arrive hopefully in May.

We will be giving demonstrations on all our digital e-readers during National Library Week, in April. The theme this year is "Communities Thrive @ your library". What a wonderful time to introduce the iPad, Kindle, Nook and Sony Touch e-readers to patrons.

This will be an exciting time at Palm Beach State College:]

iPad vs. Kindle DX "itis" and Education

There are so many blogs on iPad vs. Kindle DX, that this will be more about the 'education' side rather than personal use and preferences. We don't have an iPad to physically compare yet, so we will go with the stats that Apple has provided through the media.

There are several good blogs out there, but with our new Windows 7 installation, I'm not able to copy/paste or type these long links correctly at this time. Hopefully they will load to the right of the blog on the 1st page. The various blogs are rather good reading if you are a library/college institution and trying to decide; "Yes, to e-readers, but which one is best for our students".

Basically if you have a Kindle DX with 4GB memory for $489 and an iPad with 16GB memory at $499, it's a no-brainer...and you get all that other techno stuff with the iPad.....right? Yup! Other than this, the pros & cons are split. The main 2 comments concerning drawbacks with the iPad are the battery power; 10 hrs with iPad and also wireless charges. Kindle DX, on the plus side has 7 days with the wireless on and no wireless fee.

The power issue might not make a difference in student loans, as we'll have power cables with their check-out. I don't see a downside there, as we have laptops we loan for 3 hours with about 2 hour battery power; check out includes a power cable. We are presently discussing the iPad loan time for a 3hour check-out, not a 7 day like the Kindles/Sony/Nook.

Adding a monthly wireless service fee from AT&T on each unit is a minus for iPad for library budgets. The Kindle and Nook are free wireless. As you read the mainstream blogs, the other comments center on E-ink vs. LED backlit.

The iPad will be a big hit with students and teachers for e-textbooks; color pictures, interactive, charts, diagrams; as e-textbook publishers will be able to add video, like having a CD-ROM without the disc. Sounds very user friendly for education:] On the other side, if you are a student that reads endlessly for class, the Kindle might be easier on your eyes.

Looks like the field is wide open to new models next year. Right now our popular e-readers are the K1 and K2, 6" size for fiction and non-fiction titles. We have many teachers with a required reading list for students. If the hardback copies are all checked out, we are able to purchase many of these titles for our e-readers. The students have been very receptive to using the 6" Kindle and 9.7" Kindle DX for textbooks, [same size as iPad].

Also, here are a few patrons' comments comparing the Kindle with the Sony Touch:

Sony seems to have a glare and the ink is gray compared to the Kindle's bold black text...this is a very important area; eye strain on readers. We have registered our Nooks, and found this to be a very frustrating process using their 'touch screen keypad'. If you are use to "touch" phone technology, you'll be ok. We'll have to just wait to see how innovative the iPad is and their improved iTouch technology. Some techno blogs have said iPad improved their iTouch technology and will not have the problems some people have complained about. We have not loaded any books on our Nook with their 'touch' keypad. More on that later.

We'll have more comments soon from students, faculty and staff comparing the Kindle, Sony-Touch and Nook for student use. This April, we'll have most of our e-readers loaned out for the 2010 Read Together Palm Beach County Campaign.

http://www.literacypbc.org/ [still hand typing http site] then click blue link for "read together".

The five books that are being voted on now are:

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet, The Things They Carried, Run, The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and The Book Thief. We have loaded these on a few e-readers for voting and will purchase the winning title for the "read together", hopefully, for all our e-readers to enjoy.

We have found that students request a particular e-reader, depending on why they need it. I can see libraries having a variety of these fascinating digital e-readers to compliment their hardback/paperback collection and textbooks on reserve.

Happy E-reading:]