Rupert Murdoch has not been a fan of e-book readers since day one. He has talked about how premium content will make its way back to the Internet and has talked about the frustrations of publishers with companies such as Amazon. In his latest attempt to explain his disdain for Kindle (and other e-book readers), Murdoch put his finger on one of Kindle’s biggest weaknesses:

The Kindle is a fantastic invention for books, but it’s not much of an experience for newspapers.

There are a lot of people who enjoy the simple but convenient reading experience that you get on the current generation of Amazon Kindle. The software is not anything fancy and the device does not support magazines and newspapers in color. Amazon has still sold a decent amount of subscriptions to magazines and blogs through Kindle store, but publishers have always been unhappy with their cut. Besides, the platform doesn’t support dynamic content at this point, which is where the publishing industry is heading.

Of course, Murdoch’s main problem with Amazon is over money. Murdoch seems to not like Amazon Kindle’s domination one bit, hoping for a better bargaining position in a more competitive market:

We want to get our fair share of revenue

Amazon has some big issues to address if it wants to take the Kindle platform to the next level. The current contracts with publishers is heavily in favor of Amazon, making publishers not too eager to share their content on Kindle. The reading experience on Kindle needs to be improved with better software (and hardware). Kindle DX was supposed to address some of those issues, but it seemed it was rushed to the market to take advantage of the back-to-school season. Kindle 3.0 is expected to have better navigation capabilities, and it might be the first color-screen Kindle. But can Amazon keep the price affordable? That’s something we will have to wait and see.

Nook is not even shipping yet, but it has generated quite a buzz around the Internet. It’s one of few devices that can hold its own against Amazon Kindle on many factors. In fact, the device has some decent advantages over the Kindle. It takes advantage of Android platform, has a color LCD for navigation, and provides support for PDF and ePub. One features stands above the rest however. The fact that you can lend your e-books to others for 14 days. Something that has not been possible on e-book readers till now.

Nook’s LendMe does remind of a similar feature that Microsoft implemented on Zune. So the concept is nothing new. It’s a good step forward towards making e-books and e-readers mainstream. In case you haven’t noticed (I am sure you have), you can’t lend your books on Kindle nor can you sell them to others. That is a glaring hole in Amazon’s Kindle strategy, and the company hasn’t addressed that just yet. It’s not known how enabling lending on e-readers will affect publishers. Publishers are already complaining about not making enough money with e-books. How would they feel if people start lending more and stop buying more copies?

Will you actually buy an e-book that you borrowed and read within the 14-day lending period? Besides, can Amazon keep people from cracking its proprietary format? Amazon should think about changing the way people buy and consume e-books. If it expects people to treat e-books more seriously, it needs to make it possible for people to share content with each other and even sell their e-books. Lending can be a nice feature to add to Kindle, but it is going to be a can of worms. In fact, we still don’t know the details of this program. B&N indicates that there could be limits to this program. Considering how things worked out on Zune, it’s worth waiting to see how things will work out for Nook.

The e-book economy has a long way to go before e-books become as popular as their paper counterparts. I still believe that having subscription plans for e-books (similar to Real Network’s rhapsody) is the way to go. Amazon and other e-book stores need to find the right balance between keeping the publishers happy and providing more value to e-book owners. LendMe is a good start but will it be enough? Will it even be successful? We will have to wait and see.

Amazon Kindle is a great e-book reader and still one of the best regardless of what Sony and B&N have introduced to the market. Kindle makes reading convenient on the go, but Amazon has been surprisingly slow in improving the platform to make the Kindle the best device to read books on more effectively. Amazon has not only failed to introduce a SDK for, it has failed to take advantage of the social media to provide a better reading experience for Kindle owners.

The field of social media is exploding in popularity and services such as Twitter are at the forefront of things. These services are not just great for chatting with your friends and followers, but they also let you get research done in a more effective fashion. And if you are into keeping up with the latest news in your niche, you can always take advantage of Twitter lists. Amazon talks about how Kindle owners can take advantage of Wikipedia on their e-book reader, so why not Twitter? If devices such as Twitterpeek can survive and thrive, shouldn’t Amazon at least consider adding better support for Twitter on new Kindle models?

The bad news is that Amazon still has a lot of work to do to give us Kindle owners a decent browser to browse the web with. But the current business model doesn’t allow Amazon to introduce real web support on Kindle. It’s also impossible to know how much load enabling Twitter would put on AT&T’s network and whether that will be enough to make AT&T want to charge tweeters on Kindle.

Still, it would be nice to see Twitter trends, Twitter search, and other analysis tool be enabled on Kindle. Wikipedia is still a great place to find out about everything under the sun, but so is Twitter. Being able to interact with fellow thinkers (readers) on Twitter and exchange knowledge with them can add another layer of richness to your reading experience. Kindle + Twitter is a match made in heaven. The sooner Amazon realizes that and gives us a Twitter client on Kindle , the better.

Your take: should Amazon provide better support for Twitter on Kindle?

The e-book reader market is rapidly becoming one big red ocean. The market is still not fully mature in a sense that there is a long way to go before we see an e-book reader that could excite both the average Joe and the early adopters. Nook and Kindle are two good options if you are looking for a new e-book reader. But if you are looking for something beyond them, Creative has good news for you. Creative Zii Mediabook (not to be confused with the Wii or this Zii) is a new e-book reader that is set to take on Kindle and Nook in the near future. Zii is expected to be more than just an e-book reader. It will also allow you to consume video and audio on the road. So it’s a more complete handheld solution for those who want to take more than their books with them on the road.

Zii mediabook will not only handle multi-media content, but it will also come with text to speech, touch-screen capability, and Facebook/Twitter integration. In a sense, Creative is trying to take the e-book reader market to the next level by introducing a hybrid device that is more than just a reader. That’s where the industry going. Make no mistake about it. At the same time, I am not sure Creative is the right company to take it there. Creative mp3 players didn’t have much of a chance against the iPod, and I am not sure Creative can become a major player in the e-book market, unless Zii Mediabook has some secret features that we have not heard about.

There are too many e-book readers on the market. But a lot of them don’t make reading e-books more convenient (which is the main purpose of an e-book reader). There will be hybrid devices in the future, and those devices will have their fan base. But you can’t possibly call a device a Kindle killer or a Nook killer just because they support multi-media files. The good news is that Zii Mediabook will most likely run on Android OS. Zii MediaBook may have a small chance after all.

It’s funny how a lot of people take the wireless service that they receive on their Kindle for granted. A lot of us have gotten used to the service so much that we can’t remember how things were done before. Nothing’s perfect of course, and many Kindle owners are complaining about the costs associated with the doc conversion & delivery process. But can you imagine going back to the days when Sony Reader ruled, and it didn’t even have wireless service?

The strategy has paid off for Amazon, so it’s no wonder to see Nook, Plastic Logic, and Sony Reader all get their own wireless service from AT&T. But that’s not all. Nintendo is also planning its own Kindle-like wireless service for Nintendo DS. It’s no secret that people prefer not having to pay for their wireless service. Amazon capitalized on it early in the game, and many other companies are coming to the same realization.

The big question at this point is whether Amazon not charging for Kindle’s wireless service is limiting what can be offered on Amazon Kindle. Amazon, Sprint, and AT&T have surely crunched the numbers and came to the conclusion that the current generation of e-book readers won’t be too heavy on wireless networks. Not when you are dealing with text and basic web. Can we say the same with Apple Tablet or a Netbook? After all, there is a reason those more sophisticated devices require customers to pay a monthly fee.

I have always believed that Amazon needs to think about introducing a premium service for Kindle to allow the device to grow and enable users to get more out of their handheld device. If Amazon is truly planning an API for Kindle and an app store for Kindle, can it afford to not charge for the wireless service? Amazon and its wireless partners haven’t been too open with the numbers, but the introduction of real web on next generation Kindles could surely lead to wireless charges.

Amazon did visit the idea when it introduced Kindle a couple of years ago, but it decided to go in a different direction. But Kindle 1.0 was a primitive web device, and so is Kindle 2.0. The e-book readers of the future will be social media and real web ready. Can Amazon’s “free” wireless business model survive the load? That’s something we may get an answer to by the end of 2010.

Your take: would you consider paying a subscription fee for premium services on Kindle?

There are a lot of people who go back and forth between buying a netbook and an e-book reader these days. These devices are not necessarily interchangeable, but in these tough times, people prefer not spending more than they have on gadgets. Wouldn’t it be nice if you could get the best of both worlds in one device? Somebody has thought of that. That somebody is enTourage Inc. The company has designed an e-book reader / netbook hybrid (called eDGe)  that enables you to read your documents and manage your files on the go without a hassle.

eDGe also uses Google Android to help you get the most out of your gadget. You can connect to the Internet through WiFi or a 3G network. You can also bring your books to your e-book reader via a USB drive or a SD card. You also have 4 GB of space on your netbook, so you can store up to 3000 documents on eDGe and take them with you on the road. Here are the official specifications for eDGe:

• Dimensions: 8.25″ x 10.75″ by 1.0″ (closed)
• Weight: 2.5 lbs.
• Internal Memory: 4 GB
• File Formats: ePub, PDF
• LCD Touchscreen Display Size: 1024 x 600 (10.1″)
• E-paper Input: Wacom® Penabled®
• Display Size: 9.7″ e-Ink®(1200 x 825), 16 shades of gray
• Battery Life: 16+ hours utilizing the e-reader screen
• External Memory: SD card slot, 2 USB ports
• Input: Stylus input on e-paper and touchscreen. Virtual keyboard. Bluetooth and USB keyboard

eDGe may have a dual personality but the e-book reader one is clearly dominant. The device does come with a nice set of input features and support for open format documents is a plus. But the battery life and the on-board internal memory keep this device from being a true netbook. Here is how the device stacks up against other top e-book readers:

The concept is certainly interesting and something that may be adopted by other major companies. But at $490, it’s hard to justify the price of eDGe. If the device was priced as low as a Kindle or a Nook, we may have a whole different discussion.

Your take: does eDGe have a chance?

I know. Who still owns a Kindle 1, right? Kindle 1.0 may seem outdated these days, but there are still a lot of people who own and cherish their first generation Kindle. If you have been lucky and your Kindle has survived till now, there is no reason to get rid of your Kindle just yet. But chances are your battery struggles to hold charge as well as it used to. If that’s the case, here are 3 replacement batteries for Kindle 1 to give your gadget a new life:

Amazon Kindle Replacement Battery: the original battery from Amazon. It works as well as the one you got with your Kindle. It’s pretty cheap as well.

Dekcell Battery for Amazon Kindle 1: a nice alternative to your original Kindle 1 battery. The battery is a bit smaller than the original one. Holds charge decently.

Erda100 Amazon Kindle Replacement Battery: just in case the above two batteries are not in stuck, you can always go with this one. It may not be as good as the official battery, but it gets the job done.

Bonus:

Emergency AA Battery Charge Extender: just in case you want to get more out of your Kindle on the road, this battery extender comes in handy.

If you thought Nook was the only Android e-book reader in town, think again. Android on handheld devices is growing fast, and more e-book readers are starting to realize the value of taking advantage of the platform to offer a better reading experience to their customers. Using Google Android opens the door to third-party apps on e-book readers in the near future. So I wouldn’t be surprised to see third-party developers develop their own enhancements for devices such as the Nook. Spring Design is one of the companies that realizes the potential behind using Google Androids on its reader. Alex is a 6 inch screen e-book reader that is credited as being the first Android e-book reader on the market. And not surprisingly, it has a few things in common with the nook.

Alex is a very interesting e-book reader. It not only comes with a color LCD navigation system to help you go through your books more easily, it’s the only e-book reader that supports multimedia links in text, making it easier for publishers to develop more dynamic content for it. Here is what Spring Mind’s officials had to say about Alex:

This is the start of a whole new experience of reading content on e-books, potentially igniting a whole new industry in multimedia e-book publishing for secondary authors to create supplementary content that is hyper linked to the text. We are bringing life to books with audio, video, and annotations

Alex will be going against some stiff competition. But the company seems to be more than ready to fully embrace the Android platform. So Alex may truly become the first e-book reader with 3rd party Android add-ons. Will it capture enough market-share to survive in the cut throat market that the e-book reader market is becoming? That’s hard to say but I will pull for the underdog.

Your take: can Alex make a dent in the e-book business?

If you have read the whole piece that Amazon put together to promote Kindle, you’d want to take your Kindle to a beach as well. Let’s face it. What more fun than sitting on sand and reading a cool book, right? Now here is the problem. There are plenty of things that can damage your Kindle there, so you’d have to find a way to protect your gadget against the elements there. OCTO Splash proof cases were designed just for that occasion. And the 2nd generation OCTO cases are now out. Whether you own a Kindle DX or a Kindle 2.0 international, OCTO has a splash proof case for you.

These new Splash Proof cases make it much easier to turn your device on and off when it’s inside the case, so you won’t have to take your Kindle out too frequently. You can even charge your Kindle when it’s inside. The first generation OCTO cases got a lot of flak for that, but these issues have been addressed with the 2nd generation OCTO cases. These cases protect your Kindle DX and Kindle 2.0 against accidental splashes, moisture, dirt, dust and sand. But they are not water-proof. Of course, why would you need a water-proof Kindle case?

Here are the two OCTO splash-proof cases available on the market:

• OCTO Splash Proof Kindle DX Case
• OCTO Splash Proof Case for Kindle 2

All in all, getting an OCTO Splash Proof case is an affordable way to protect your Kindle on the beach without having to spend too much money.

You heard that right. B&N may have one of the best e-book readers on the market in Nook. There is no question that the device is capable of holding its own against Amazon Kindle 2. But what if someone is looking for an alternative to Kindle DX? Barnes & Nobles now has you covered by planning to sell Plastic Logic’s QUE e-book reader alongside the Nook. We did know a while back that Plastic Logic was working on rounding up partners to make the best launch possible. Since Amazon is already pushing Kindle DX hard, Plastic Logic’s best bet in gaining some traction in this market is B&N.

B&N will of course open its content to Plastic Logic, which is something the company badly needs. No e-book reader can expect to make it big in the e-book market without having access to a decent sized content bank. Even though QUE reader is a niche product, it still needs B&N more than the other way around.

QUE is not your everyday ebook reader. It’s designed for business users. No wonder it provides support for powerpoint and excel documents in addition to those popular e-book file formats. It’s roughly the same size as Kindle DX, but you can expect it to force Amazon to drop Kindle DX’s price as Plastic Logic will surely price it under $489.

Let’s hope that Plastic Logic’s plan go as smoothly as it’s hoping. While QUE is not going to dominate the e-book market, a lot of tech fans have been waiting for months to get their hands on this interesting piece of technology. Plastic Logic won’t get too many chances to prove its worth.