ASUS DR-570 e-Reader

It appears that ASUS is seriously entering the hot e-Reader market with a different approach then Amazon, Barnes & Noble and Sony. The ASUS DR-570 e-Reader uses a full color OLED display which will allow content providers to deliver rich, interactive, magazines in addition to standard e-Books. The DR-570 is also packed full of technology with WiFi and Cellular 3G, and ASUS claims a 122hr battery life on a single charge.

I’ll have to see this in person before I decide if I’m going to buy one. I think I prefer an e-Ink, black and white reader for books and I can always use my Dell Laptop for all the other online magazines and interactive media.

Check out SlashGear’s original report on the ASUS e-Reader here and their update today here.

Microsoft Courier (Image from GIZMODO.com)

I noticed a section on Karisha Prescott’s blog post titled “Ideal Writing Gear: Science Fiction Office“ that struck some interest. Being a gadget freak myself, I couldn’t resist Google-ing the Microsoft Courier. Will it become the ultimate writer’s journal?

It appears that Microsoft has joined the race for e-reader supremacy with Amazon’s Kindle, Barnes & Noble’s Nook and Sony’s Readers but Microsoft is definitely trying to raise the ante. Maybe it’s not fair to compare the Courier to e-readers but more appropriate to compare it to the latest tablet-PCs and netbooks. Or maybe, we should really compare it to personal organizers and notebooks (which don’t have a shot against the features that Microsoft is touting). Karisha described it as a “virtual journal” that is reminiscent of the familiar Moleskine journals. I’m not a writer myself but carry around a Moleskine everyday for recording notes during my regular business meetings. It would be amazing to have a digital, customizable journal that also serves as an e-reader!

Check out the video clips and more pictures at GIZMODO.

One of our readers came across this article so we thought we’d share it with everyone.

Ever since electronic books emerged as a major growth market, New York’s largest publishing houses have worried that big-name authors might sign deals directly with e-book retailers or other new ventures, bypassing traditional publishers entirely.

Now, one well-known author is doing just that.

Stephen R. Covey, one of the most successful business authors of the last two decades, has moved e-book rights to two of his best-selling books from his print publisher, Simon & Schuster, a division of the CBS Corporation, to a digital publisher that will sell the e-books to Amazon.com for one year.

Read more at NYTimes.com …