Dropbox: The Online Storage I've Been Dreaming Of

Years back when I was the only geek head in a creative agency, we shared files using the Appleshare server in the shop. We always clogged the server and nobody ever remembers to remove their files once the work was done. So I went around setting up a public shared folder on everyone's Mac. We were running OS9 and setting up was dead easy. I called them dropboxes. Pretty soon, everyone got so used to it they were dropboxing stuff all over the place. It was sheer convenience to share work with someone else by putting it into your own dropbox and telling your colleague to pick it up from there. Or, we could just dump the files into their dropbox. Best of all, you were responsible for your own dropbox, so when you start going low on hard drive space, you just archive or trash whatever's not needed from your dropbox.

So when I came across Dropbox, it brought back fond memories. Dropbox is an online storage solution that's awe-inspiring in its simplicy. They offer free 2GB online storage if you sign up now and there are plans for more storage plans for a fee. How it works is pure simplicity. Once you install it, you get an online shared folder - the Dropbox - that sits in your documents folder or anywhere else you choose. It behaves like any other folder on your machine and you can manage files and folders in it just like any other. But put your files or folders in there and they're automatically synced to Amazon S3-backed storage. You can assess your files from any PC that has Dropbox installed and linked to your account. Or, you can assess them through a web interface. All files are encrypted and stored securely though there is a public folder for you to share your files with friends and family. Dropbox runs with the Mac, Windows and Linux.

I've used Dropbox for a couple of days, and it's just about the most intuitive and transparent online storage solution I've come across. I'm using it to share files between my two laptops running Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux.

You can get Dropbox or watch a screencast of how it works here.

BeBook Mobipocket support arrives

Mobipocket support for BeBook is finally here. The BeBook now joins the ranks of the iRex Iliad, Cybook and their re-branded clones to offer support for one of the more popular eReader formats around.

According to earlier posts, all new orders from BeBook will ship with Mobipocket support. Existing owners can upgrade by downloading the software update from BeBook's website, which I expect will be swamped with download requests. The new free update supports RSS newsfeeds as well.

You can download the upgrade from here:

• BeBook update 39.151.878 bytes
• MobiPocket Reader (this version has support for the BeBook; it'll take some more time for Mobipocket.com to update their website as well) 4.271.104 bytes

Mobipocket support gives the BeBook a wider audience, especially for readers who want to use an e-reader for titles bought from e-retailers, or who want to access the thousands of newsfeeds available on the Net.

BeBook pricing remains the same, and is available from BeBook's website.

EverBook eReader & Re-Branded Hanlin V3

Aussie buyers now have another choice, the EverBook. I just bumped into this Aussie website that's selling the EverBook for A$499 with free Express Post shipping within Australia. Interestingly, it looks like a clone of the Cybook so my take is that it's a re-branded CyBook. Specs are identical and only the logo stamped on the front of the device is different. Anyhow, it's a lot cheaper than the CyBook being sold at Dymocks for A$599. A hundred bucks is a big difference. I wonder how many Cybooks Dymocks can sell once people see an identical product for a lot cheaper.

In any case, it's great to have variety. This is a developing market that needs competition to drive prices down, which in turn ups penetration rates.

On the subject of re-branding, EverBook isn't the first one to do it. In fact, the BeBook is a Dutch re-brand of the Chinese Jinke Hanlin V3 eBook reader. And then, there's the LBook, another re-branded Hanlin, which is distributed in Ukraine, Russia, Estonia and Kazakhstan. There's another re-branded Hanlin I saw last week, I don't recall the name but I believe it's being distributed for the Spanish market. The BeBook seems to be the most visible of the Hanlin re-brands; perhaps because they're targeting it internationally. And they've got a good ongoing discount strategy; anyone who buys a BeBook online gets a 25 euro discount by entering this email bundera@gmail as a coupon code at checkout.

The BeBook e-reader sells 30.000th unit and supports Mobipocket DRM

Now here's an interesting post I found here at mobileread.com that reads like a press release. 30,000 Bebooks sold is quite a sizeable number. If anyone knows how many Kindles, Cybooks or iLiads have been sold, do post a comment.

The interesting part here is that it states that Mobipocket support is now available. Here's the quote:

"All new BeBooks shipped from today will have the Mobipocket update installed. This means BeBook owners now have access to virtually any new book released. The MobiPocket DRM (digital rights management/ copyright system) standard is used for most new book releases."

Then, further down the promise existing BeBook owners have been waiting for:

"For existing BeBook users the update will be available as a free download from our website: www.mybebook.com."

Unfortunately I couldn't find the Mobipocket update on BeBook's website, only a recent update that doesn't include Mobipocket support. And I'm not the only one, judging from other comments to the posting. Seeing as the post was put up only yesterday on Mobileread.com, I'm inclined to think that they're a little slow in updating the website, or someone jumped the gun in announcing the update. Whatever the story may be, let's hope they get it up soon. The way I see it, this will only draw more people into the BeBook camp and they'll have a Kindle Killer on their hands.

As for me, Mobipocket support is drawing me one step closer to getting the BeBook.

eBook Readers

I've been following the eBook trail for a couple of years now and the first eBook reader I had my hands on was the Gemstar eBook reader. This was several years ago and I recall liking the soft glow of the screen which made reading rather easy. In those days, the memory that came with the device was a mere 8MB and though you could carry a dozen or so books on it, it didn't seem like enough to me. I wanted a whole library. I liken the Gemstar to the first Rio MP3 player - while the idea is good, something else was needed to spark off a revolution, a catalyst. For MP3 players, this turned out to be the iPod which brought sleek looks, an intuitive interface, and off course the Apple brand name.

Now, I doubt Apple is going to go into the eBook reader market, judging from the sentiments of the many Apple watchers in the industry, although one can never tell. Steve Jobs alluded as much when he said that "people don't read anymore". In any case, MP3 players are different from eBook readers in many ways, and creating an eBook reader into something like an MP3 "must-have" device is a tall order. There are many reasons, but I won't dwell in my short blog. I'm sure you can think of some obvious ones. However, I will say that book readers are not the same as music listeners. Pretty obvious, huh? You can listen to a music album time and again which you don't with a book (maybe some months later you re-read the book, but that's not the same). You can do other things at the same time as listening to music. You can't do that with a book. And the list goes on.

So the closest one can get to creating a "must-have" ebook reader is to create a device that makes the reading experience as close as possible to reading a real book. That would appeal to a lot of people who otherwise would not consider an eBook reader, I reckon. Then there are people like me. I already read eBooks on my computer, on my Palm and on my mobile phone. I'm already sold on these gadgets, so having an eBook reader that simulates the real book reading experience would be nice. So, I reckon for both these groups, the bottom line on getting an eBook reader is the kind of content you can get into it, meaning is content readily available, and price.

Content-wise I don't find a real problem, there's lots of content out there from Fictionwise.com, free books from the Guntenburg project, Baen Books, Dymocks and others. Price-wise, well new technology doesn't come cheap, but prices should fall as the technology gets widespread.

So what eBook readers are there? If anything, I think the past year has seen a resurgence in eBook readers, mostly due to the development of a new screen technology called e-Ink. e-Ink simulates the look of a printed paper. It's used in the new eBook readers that came out over the past year, like Amazon's Kindle, the Cybook Gen 3, the iRex iLiad and the BeBook.

Unless you're a US resident, you probably won't consider the Kindle. The Kindle downloads content over Amazon Whispernet which uses the Sprint EVDO mobile data network so you can only buy books wirelessly - no hooking up to the PC required. All that's pretty good and makes buying content a breeze. Unfortunately, the way it works pretty much means it's US-centric and you'll be hard-pressed to get content outside of the US. Anyway, the Kindle isn't available in Australia, Europe or elsewhere. So that pretty much takes care of it.

The Cybook, iLiad and BeBook can be purchased online and shipped internationally. In fact, the Cybook and iLiad are sold here in Australia at Dymocks. Steep pricing though, at A$899 for the iLiad and A$599 for the Cybook. May be a little cheaper if you buy direct from their websites online and have it shipped over.

The BeBook is the cheapest of the lot at A$365 (A$37 shipping). Better yet, you get 25 euro off (well, it's a European company) the price when you put in this email bundera@gmail.com as a discount coupon during checkout. In my book (pun intended), the BeBook offers the best price if you want to get an eBook reader.

As for content, the Cybook and iLiad already offer Mobipocket support and I consider Mobipocket essential if you want to buy commercial books, as it's a widely used DRM format. BeBook doesn't yet have Mobipocket support but they promise a software update anytime now. In fact, I just read that peter@bebooks.com promised the update this week - see his post of 14th Sept at Teleread where he says, "This week we’ll release the RSS + Mobipocket support update. (Free!)".

These are exciting times for eBook readers and I'm sure more devices will be coming on the market in the next year, and hopefully prices will start to fall sooner than later. The Cybook, iLiad and Bebook all look pretty good and there's a wealth of online reviews you can check up on. But you do have to put out quite a bit of moola for what essentially is a one-trick pony reading device. Well, to be fair, they do play MP3 files and the iLiad has a touch screen for scrawling notes. Then you consider that for the same money you can buy an Asus eeePC or a low-cost discount laptop that can do so much more than just read ebooks.

But anyhow, if you really want an eBook reader now and you're not born of independently wealthy parents, I'll say go for the Bebook.

First Post

I've done a couple of blogs over the years, but neglected them and they died a natural death. Maybe it's because they were all of a general nature with no real focus. Hopefully this one will be different. I'll focus on gadget stuff which is what I like. So there, the first post is done. As to what follows, we'll have to see.