Apparently I goofed when I reported yesterday that B&N hadn't filed FCC paperwork for a new Nook model, because they actually submitted it last week (a glitch in the search function?).

The unnamed Nook bears the model number BNVR520, and it appears to be a 6" device. I can also report that it was tested for Wifi and hs a 1.5Ah battery, but just about all other details have been concealed by B&N under the usual confidentiality request.

There's speculation elsewhere on the web that the new Nook will launch this week, and that is very likely true given that the confidentiality period ends on 16 November.

So if we don't know more by Friday, we will know more in a couple weeks.

Stay tuned.

(Thanks, Phil, for the tip!)

If you hesitated even a moment when ordering the new Oasis, chances are you are on the waiting list and won't get your device for days or weeks.

While you could wait for Amazon to catch up with the backlog, there is another option. I heard via MobileRead that Best Buy has the Kindle in stock. You can walk in today, buy one, and take it home.

I just checked my local stores, and they all have the new Oasis in stock. Supplies are running low, though, so if you want one you need to act fast.

Ever wonder just what is involved in refreshing an E-ink screen?

Ben Krasnow has posted a video where he first explains how epaper works and then goes on to modify the firmware of a 4.2" epaper module to get a faster refresh rate.

After giving us the background, Krasnow then walks us through some of the software running on the board that drives the E-ink screen, and shows how he modified it to make it faster by editing a few look-up-tables.

Ben Krasnow via Hackaday

IDG's mobile device shipment estimates for last quarter are  stark reminder of consumers' priorities. The tea leaf readers revealed earlier this month that global smartphone shipments rose 2.7% in the third quarter, 373.1 million units, while at the same time tablet shipments fell 5.4%, to 40 million units.

As you can see in the following chart, four of the top tablet makers all gained market share last quarter. Samsung did not, but it still held on to second place.

"There's a penchant for low-cost slates and this holds true even for premium vendors like Apple," said Jitesh Ubrani, senior research analyst with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Device Trackers. "However, many of these low-cost slates are simply long-awaited replacements for consumers as first-time buyers are becoming harder to find and the overall installed base for these devices declines further in the coming years."

In the smartphone market, all five of the major smartphone makers increased shipments while Samsung continued to take the top spot.

"As much of the focus has been on the wide range of high-profile flagship smartphones launched or announced in Q3, it is also important to look at what is happening with the rest of the industry," said Ryan Reith, program vice president with IDC's Worldwide Quarterly Mobile Device Trackers. "Collectively, the industry continues to grow, but at a much slower pace than past years. What is clear is that the 'Others' outside of the top 5 leading vendors continue to struggle and the industry leaders are quickly forming two camps. First, those able to drive significant volumes at the high end, which right now is basically Samsung, Apple, and Huawei, despite high-profile launches from Google, Essential, LG, and others. Second, a few other Chinese OEMs that are making tremendous headway outside of the China domestic market."

Amazon is kicking off its Black Friday sales today. on the tenth anniversary of the launch of its first gadget. It has put several Fire tablet models and Kindle models on sale - but not the oasis or Voyage, though.

Kindles

• Kindle ($50)
• Paperwhite ($90)
• Kindle for Kids bundle ($70)

refurbished

• Kindle ($40)
• Paperwhite ($80)
• Voyage ($120)
• Oasis ($200)

Fire Tablets

• Fire 7 Kids Edition ($70)
• Fire HD 8 Kids Edition ($90)
• Fire HD 10 ($100)

I have some good news and some bad news for you today.

The good news is that Amazon has released an update for the Fire tablet that, in the words of one user, allows the Fire tablet to monitor compatible home cameras with Alexa.

The bad news is that the update also introduced a bug. Numerous Reddit users are reporting that the update has made it difficult to impossible to sideload apps.

For those not familiar with the term, sideloading is the name for when an Android user downloads and installs an app from a source other than an official app store. You might download the app from the developer's own site, or from deals sites like Humble Bundle, and then copy it to your Android device before installing it.

This is a common practice, but thanks to this bug, it no longer works on some Fire tablet models. Instead, users are reporting that the "install" button is grayed out, and cannot be clicked.

And yes, this is very likely a bug; for one thing, Amazon isn't letting everyone download it (they probably pulled the update so they can fix the problem), and here is the official word from customer service:

Thank you. I have replicated the issue and it appears to be a bug with the software update. I have forwarded this information to the technical team along with the details and they will be looking into this issue and working on this. However, any outcome regarding the issue will be in the form of a software update.

You can wait until Amazon sends out  fix, but if you need to sideload an app in the meantime, there various ways to sidestep the bug.

One user reported that they plugged in a USB mouse to their Fire tablet, and used that to click the install button. Another said that they disabled a background process (Whisperplay daemon) and eventually they could install apps again.

Going from the install screen to the home screen and then back to the install screen also reportedly bypassed the bug. And finally, pressing the power button to put your Fire tablet to sleep in the middle of the install, and then waking it up, fixed the problem for at least one user.

I have not been able to confirm any of these fixes because Amazon won't let me install the update.

But I do hope they work for you.

The Chinese ereader maker Onyx is teasing a new model, and Notebook Italia got to see it at the HKTDC Electronics Fair 2017.

The Onyx Boox Nova will reportedly feature a dual-core Freescale i.MX6 chip with 1GB RAM and 16GB internal storage. It will have a 7.8" Carta E-ink screen with frontlight and touchscreen, and run Android 6.0.

The rest of the technical specifications include microSD card slot, speakers, microphone, headphone jack, WiFi and Bluetooth, and a USB-C port. I know, I know, they're going to force you to carry round yet another a cable, but this detail will likely change before the Nova ships, so I wouldn't worry too much.

The Nova is supposed to enter production in the first quarter of 2018, but Onyx has consistently been overly optimistic in promising new hardware. I would not expect this device to be available before fall 2018.

Notebook Italia

For about 3 months now the  OEM version of the Icarus Illumina XL HD  Android ereader has been available through AliExpress. Now you can also buy it from Banggood (a significantly more reputable source).

The Boyue  T80s Likebook Plus runs Android 4.2 on a quad-core 1.5 GHz CPU. It is up for pre-order on Banggood for $196 with free shipping and a free case, and is expected to ship next week.

It has 1GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, but no external card slot. It features a 7.8", 300 ppi Carta E-ink screen (1404 x 1872) with frontlight and capacitive touchscreen.

It also has Bluetooth, Wifi, a headphone jack, and a 2.8Ah battery.

In terms of software, the built-in reading app supports ePub and PDF. It also has marginal support for FB2, RTF, Mobi, and DJVU files (you can read them, but you won't want to). The Likebook Plus also has Google Play, so you can expand its abilities by installing apps.

In short, this is an Android ereader in the same price and size range as the new 7", $199 Kindle Oasis. The Likebook Plus has its merits, but I find the new Oasis much more appealing.

How about you?

A few weeks back Amazon released a firmware update for its Fire tablets that broke a key feature. The update accidentally made it difficult to impossible to install third-party apps.

Now Amazon has released a new version of Fire OS 5.6, and it seems to fix the bug. Update 5.6.0.0 can be downloaded from Amazon. There's no mention of the bug in the changelog, but user reports suggest that the problem has been fixed.

If you have a late model Fire tablet, you can install the update by going to the settings > device > systems update menu, and telling the tablet to check for an update.

As an alternative, you can also download the update from Amazon and install it yourself.

I cannot, though. While Amazon did release an update for 4th-gen Fire tablets, they did not release one for my model.

I am one of the lucky few that managed to duck the problem entirely. How about you?

The Chinese ereader maker Boyue has released another minor variation on its 6" Android ereader.

Boyue T65s, aka Likebook Air, aka the JDREAD Venus, runs Android 4.2 on a single core 1GHz CPU. It costs $148 on Banggood. You can also find it for $159 on AliExpress.

The Likebook Air has 1GB RAM, 16GB internal storage, but no external card slot. It features a 6", 300 ppi Carta E-ink screen (1072 x 1448) with frontlight and capacitive touchscreen.

It also has Bluetooth, Wifi, and a 2Ah battery.

In terms of software, the built-in reading app supports ePub and PDF. It also has marginal support for FB2, RTF, Mobi, and DJVU files (you can read them, but you won't want to). The Likebook Air also has Google Play, so you can expand its abilities by installing apps.

Unlike other Boyue models on Banggood, this is actually a model made for one of Boyue's partners rather than the OEM version sold by Boyue. This is the JDREAD Venus from Chinese retailer JingDong, who sells it for the equivalent of $166 USD.

All in all, it's not clear why JDRead wanted this model; it's essentially the same as the Boyue T63, which was rebranded by JDRead in spring 2016. The only real difference is the lack of page turn buttons.

Do you suppose they want to release enough similar 6" models that they can play a matching game?

The giants are fighting, but all the blows are landing on the little people.

From Variety:

The conflict between Amazon and Google is escalating: Google once again started to block access to YouTube on Amazon’s Echo Show device Tuesday, and is notifying users of Amazon’s Fire TV that they won’t be able to access YouTube anymore starting January 1st.

In an unusually frank statement, a Google spokesperson squarely blamed Amazon’s unwillingness to strike a business deal with Google for the step:

?“We’ve been trying to reach agreement with Amazon to give consumers access to each other’s products and services. But Amazon doesn’t carry Google products like Chromecast and Google Home, doesn’t make Prime Video available for Google Cast users, and last month stopped selling some of Nest’s latest products. Given this lack of reciprocity, we are no longer supporting YouTube on Echo Show and FireTV. We hope we can reach an agreement to resolve these issues soon.”

Amazon shot back Tuesday afternoon, sending Variety the following statement:

“Echo Show and Fire TV now display a standard web view of YouTube.com and point customers directly to YouTube’s existing website. Google is setting a disappointing precedent by selectively blocking customer access to an open website. We hope to resolve this with Google as soon as possible.”

Do you know what this reminds me of?

Reading apps on the Fire tablet.

For as long as Amazon sold Fire tablets they have blocked Fire tablet owners from downloading Kobo, Nook, and other competing apps from the Amazon Appstore.

Amazon has claimed that the apps weren't compatible, but the developers have shown me that Amazon was lying. The apps were tested for compatibility before the Fire tablet launched, and the reality was that Amazon didn't want to play nice with its competitors on its own platform so it blocked the apps.

Now we are seeing a similar situation play out in between Google and Amazon, only this time Amazon is fighting someone large enough to fight back.

Google has enough streaming video market share in Youtube that it can hurt Amazon in ways that no ebook app developer could. Device owners want to use all available services with their device, which is why sales of the Echo Show declined notably after Google first blocked its access to Youtube in September.

And now Google has gone a step further, and started blocking Youtube access from both the Fire TV and the Echo Show. (The Fire tablet remains unaffected at this time.)

While I can appreciate Google's position, they are still punishing users as an indirect attack on Amazon.

A pox on both their houses.

The Chinese startup is the first and only company to sell an E-ink monitor, and soon they will be the first to sell - well, I'm not sure what it is.

According to a leaked product page, the PaperMovie is a new display that combines a small overhead projector with a 13.3" E-ink monitor. Thanks to that projector, it is reportedly capable of displaying color.

As you may know, E-ink screens are great at black and white but terrible at displaying color because the only way to display color on an E-ink screen is by putting a filter on top of a grayscale screen (there's better tech coming, but it's not available yet). That filter reduces the resolution, and leaves the screen with a gray undertone.

The PaperMovie gets around this shortcoming by using the projector to  put the color on E-ink screen.

Or at least that is what is promised in the listing on Taobao; we have yet to see the device in action, or even see an official press release.

At this point the PaperMovie  is more of a dream than a product, but if it does ship the most likely ship date is the end of next year.

Stay tuned.

MobileRead

Readers have been asking for more reader stories and fewer author stories. Here's a video that Charbax shot late last month, but only crossed my desk this morning

ClearInk is a screen tech startup that won best in show at SID Display Week this year for a reflective color display that some are incorrectly describing as epaper. Their tech uses a color filter over an electrophoretic display. (This display uses tech that is similar to E-ink's screens, but still different.)

The above video was shot at IDTechEx USA 2017.

The video below is from SID Display Week. It is the second of two videos Charbax shot in the ClearInk booth in May.

This is pretty nifty tech - for a demo in a booth.

If you listen carefully, you will hear that the screens are playing 30 frames per second, but only showing 8 colors. That is rather basic compared to the average tablet, which can play video for hours and hours and show millions of colors.

ClearInk thinks there is a market for these screens in educational devices, but that market is already being served by cheap tablet, Chromebooks, and expensive iPads.

It's not clear how ClearInk's tech will improve on existing offerings, which is why it has about as much chance as previous reflective screen tech like Mirasol, Pixtronix, and Liquavista.

Mobileread

Amazon is holding another sale on its reading devices today, as well as other hardware. Most of the Kindle and Fire tablet models are $20 to $30 off, and Amazon is also offering 30% off a one-year Kindle Unlimited subscription.

That would make a great gift, I think.

Fire tablets

• Fire 7 Kids Edition - $79
• Fire HD 8 Kids Edition - $99
• Fire 7 ($20 off) - $29
• Fire HD 8 ($30 off) - $49
• Fire HD 10 ($30 off) - $119

Kindles

• Kindle ($20 off) - $59
• Kindle for Kids bundle - $79
• Kindle Paperwhite ($20 off) - $99

Amazon rolled out a new update today for its Kindle ereaders today. Most models won't be getting any new features (or so the change logs suggest) but owners of the latest generation basic Kindle, as well as Oasis owners, will be getting a special treat today.

According to the changelogs, Kindle firmware 5.9.2.0.1 adds a new software feature to the three Kindle models mentioned above.

The basic Kindle and the first-gen Kindle Oasis both gain Audible support with the new firmware. You'll need a Bluetooth accessory to use this feature, but once you pair it with your Kindle:

Listen to Audible on this Kindle. Play audiobooks directly from your library or explore the Audible store to discover new ones. Easily switch between reading on your Kindle and listening to your story on your favorite Bluetooth device – like speakers or headphones.

Amazon had first started teasing a couple months back that the basic Kindle would play Audible audiobooks, so that comes as no surprise. (Amazon is also teasing that the basic Kindle will get a 32GB storage option. This detail has been in the product listing on Amazon.com for a month and a half, but we still don't know if it is an error or not.)

But no one had expected that the new Kindle Oasis would also gain a feature in this update. - one that almost everyone will appreciate.

Update the firmware of your new Kindle Oasis and you will be can disable the touchscreen:

Choose this setting to temporarily disable the touchscreen. You can turn the page using the physical buttons on your Kindle. To enable the touchscreen again, press the power button once to put your Kindle in sleep mode and once more to wake it back up - or simply let your Kindle go to sleep on its own.

That is such a good idea it almost makes you wonder why the Oasis didn't ship with the option last year.

Amazon will roll out the update in the coming weeks. You can also download it from Amazon.com, and install it manually.

Amazon's closeout subsidiary is having a special on old model Kindles, so here's a chance to fill in any gap in your collection.

And when I say old models, I mean it. Woot is selling the old basic Kindle and Kindle Touch refurbs at prices starting at $15 and $18. These devices were originally released in 2011, so they're not so much old as ancient (and given their age, I have concerns about their batteries).

• Kindle (2011, silver) - $15
• Kindle Touch (2011, 3G) - $20

Woot also has a few Fire tablet models

• Fire HD 6" - $15
• Fire HD 8" (Blue , 2016) - $30
• Fire HD 8" (16GB, 2016)- $30
• Fire HD 7" (16GB , 2015) - $20

If you want to get one you will need to act fast. I learned of this sale this morning. When I first saw it Woot was also selling several other Kindle models, but those units had sold out by the time I got a chance to write this post.

Woot via MobileRead

If the $600 Remarkable digital writing slate is too rich for your tastes then you might be interested in a hybrid retro solution that is just being released in China.

Royole is a Chinese tech company that has, among other things, developed a pressure sensitive touchscreen tech. I don't know if the tech is compatible with Android tablets, but Royole has integrated the tech into a paper writing tablet, the Rowrite.

The way the Rowrite works is you put a sheet of paper on the Rowrite, and then use a special pen to draw on the paper. The device under the paper picks up your actions and transmits them to your mobile device over Bluetooth (there are companion apps for iOS and Android).

There's actually very little info in the Rowrite, and it's all in Chimese:

In a way this is like putting a piece of paper on top of a Wacom pad, and drawing with a special pen, only in this case we have a device that is intended to work with mobile devices rather than a PC.

In a way, the Rowrite reminds me of Boogie Board, a line of electronic paper slates with screen tech based on cholesteric LCDs. Several Boogie Board models could sync with a PC, including the Sync, which costs $82 on Amazon.

You can find the Rowrite on JD.com for 799 yuan, or about $120 USD.

I have some good news and bad news today. The good news is that Barnes & Noble has sent emails to all of its customers, congratulating them on their new Nook that they did not purchase.

The bad news is that B&N won't be sending a matching Nook with each email (which is a shame because I got three of the emails). "Welcome to Nook by Barnes & Noble," the email read,

Thanks for registering your new NOOK! Here are some helpful hints for getting the most out of your device. Millions of adventures are waiting for you when you read with Barnes & Noble, whether on your NOOK device, in our stores, or on BN.com.

Did you get one of the emails?

Much to my surprise, I got three, one to each of my 3 accounts with B&N. While I would love to get 3 free Nooks (I am in need of coasters for drinks) I don't expect to receive any.

This is obviously a glitch of some kind.

The dual-screen Yotaphone 3 was promised to be a lower cost replacement for the previous Yotaphone model when it was announced in June 2017, but it looks like that didn't happen.

A reader tipped me to a German website which is selling the Yotaphone 3 for 544.13 GBP, or about $728 USD. That is over twice the retail price mentioned at launch. (Thanks, kuzelnik!)

Gallery:

The Yota YotaPhone 3 is a dual-screen Android smartphone with a 5.5" AMOLED display on the front and a 5.2" E-ink screen on the back. It's powered by a 2Ghz octa-core Snapdragon 625 CPU with 4GB RAM, 64GB internal storage, and a microSD card slot.

It also has two cameras (12MP and 13MP) as well as 4G LTE, Wifi, Bluetooth, GPS, A-GPS, GLONASS, and a fingerprint sensor integrated into the home button.  It has a 3.2 Ah battery, which is recharged via a USB-C port.

The phone runs with Android 7.0 Nougat with Yota's own Yota OS dual-operating system interface over the top. This OS is so far the only software that makes full use of the second screen on a smartphone.

It is more expensive than its predecessor and yet has a weaker CPU. While it does have more RAM, better cameras, and more storage than the Yotaphone 2, I doubt many buyers are going to be interested in such an extravagant niche phone.

MobileRead

2017 was a rather paltry year for new ereaders. Aside from the Remarkable 10.3" writing slate, the one interesting new ereader was the Kindle Oasis 2 with its 7" screen.

Given that the new Oasis has a screen size that Sony pioneered in late 2009 combined with a one-handed design that Pocketbook pioneered (also in 2009), last year was noteworthy less for new ideas than the recycling of old ones.

But 2018 doesn't have to be that way. We are due for either a brand-new Kindle model or a refresh, and since it will be two years since the last new Kobo model, we're bound to see a new device from them as well.

When it comes to new ereaders, what are you looking forward to? Is it the new screen tech from ClearInk?

Me, I am on the edge of my seat with anticipation for the new hardware from Onyx. This Chinese ereader maker is working on a 6.8" ereader as well as a 10.3" model called the Note. Both run Android  6.0, but unfortunately Onyx hasn't even set a firm date to start production, much less ship the new hardware.

The same goes for Onyx's netbook, the Onyx Typewriter. We saw a prototype in April but there's still no firm commitment on the launch day or price.

So what would you like to see in terms of new ereader hardware?