Book Reviews and Money Saving Tips

How is that for a start.   I have the Augen eBook.   I reviewed it here last July.  Overall it is a good product for the money but you do get what you pay for.   In this case that is a non-existent technical support department.   The reader has not worked well with DRM books from the start.  DRM is digital rights management and it is a protection scheme by the powers who dictate that kind of thing.  If you google it you will find many articles on “cracks” for DRM.  It is obvious I am not the only one that finds DRM annoying and I am an author.   The problem is that DRM causes books to behave badly.   In my case, DRM handling by Augen means periodically dropping lines of the story.   Since I review books on Pick of the Literate and Azure Dwarf’s Horde of SciFi and Fantasy I get a lot of books protected by DRM.   Dropping lines can have an impact on the plot and the enjoyment of...

A month or so ago I suggested the inevitability of the $29.99 eReader in an eReader discussion at BookBlogs. I said I thought that a price point at that level would entice parents into buying them for their kids. A reader took offense to my suggestion with the inference that I am nuts. The nuts part may or may not be true, opinions on that are mixed. However Vtech has just lowered the bar to $59.99 for an eReader. Vtech’s offering has animated stories with interactive games and learning tools. Featuring a color touch screen and a full qwerty keyboard their V.Reader also has both a USB port and an SD port. All of this for $59.99! The down side is that you are going to be limited to what they offer to read which is the case from some of the main stream adult eReaders as well. The stories are $19.99 each which as grotesque as that seems is on a par with some of the best sellers coming out in eBooks. I think the price is too steep but compared to DS or Gameboy offerings they are ...

Go to Azure Dwarf to get the skinny on the new price drop by Borders.

5/15/11 UPDATE   Zero Tech Support must disqualify my recommendation  on  this unit. I’ve been toying with the idea of an eBook reader for months. When Barnes and Noble came out with the Nook I was almost hooked. The features and price were good. As always, I dithered and reading last Sunday’s paper I saw an ad at Kmart for an eBook reader for $89.99 with a color LCD screen. I tried to get some data on it but the web was surprisingly empty of info on Augen and their products. The Aguen website is a veritable wasteland, practically no information. I stewed over it for 24 hours and went over to Kmart to look at one, decided what the hey and bought one. Initial impressions are important. The packaging was good and the book is nicely wrapped in a leather case. The manual is a bit of a joke. I’ve gotten more information on battery toothbrushes. The unit has a nice feel to it. It isn’t too heavy and the screen is very clear and sharp. The wi-fi connection ...