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Sony has announced it has managed to create the world's first touchscreen e-reader which doesn't impede the quality of the e-ink screen - the next-generation of the Sony Reader Touch.

When TechRadar caught up with Amazon at the launch of the Kindle, Steve Kessel, senior vice president for Kindle at Amazon was vehement that it would never make a touchscreen device as it would impinge on readability.

Kessel noted: "If you put touch on an e-ink display – a reflective display – then anything you put on the top ruins readability. You can already see this with some devices which are out on the market at the moment that have integrated touch into the displays."

No extra layer

Sony knows this and this is why it has managed to create a touchscreen display for the Sony Reader Touch which does away with the extra layer and with it the reflectiveness of the display.

"You usually have to put a film over the e-ink display to make it touchscreen but we have created the only device this year which is finger controlled and with no extra layer," explained Sony Reader marketing manager Omar Gurnah.

The Sony Reader Touch does come equipped with a stylus but the new optical screen technology, called E Ink Pearl, can be used with fingers as well.

The new tech also means improved contrast with 16 levels of greyscale.

Waterstones has the Sony Pocket Edition priced at £159.99 and the Sony Touch retailing for £199.99.

Both of these are currently on pre-order with the UK release date for both the Touch and Pocket set for 17 September.

It will be interesting to see if the next iteration of the Amazon Kindle in the UK will indeed adopt the technology Sony is using or if it will speak to its non-touchscreen word.

Sony officially announced its two new ebooks for the UK market this week – the next-gen Pocket and Touch editions of the Reader.

Although they were initially announced at IFA 2010, this is the first time the devices have been seen in the UK, with Sony announcing that they have secured access to more books than any other ebook reader on the market – a whopping 600,000.

This is due to a rental agreement with 50 British Libraries and access to Google's vast archive of free ebooks.

You've got the Touch

Although Sony wouldn't give out details on price for the Sony Pocket and Touch, Waterstones has announced UK pricing for both devices.

Waterstones has the Sony Pocket Edition priced at £159.99 and the Sony Touch retailing for £199.99.

Both of these are currently on pre-order with the UK release date for both the Touch and Pocket pencilled in for 17 September.

These are far pricier than the Amazon Kindle, which will cost you £109 (or £149 with Wi-Fi).

But Sony is hoping that its all-new touchscreen Touch and the fact the devices are not tied to just the Amazon store will entice tech-savvy bookworms.

Samsung has officially unveiled its iPad rival at IFA 2010, the 7-inch Android based Samsung Galaxy Tab.

Boasting dimensions of 19x120x12mm, the 7-inch tablet utilises WSVGA (1024x600) TFT screen technology and is packing Android 2.2 (FroYo).

Samsung is clearly proud of its seven inch wonder, saying the device "is pushing the market in new directions and Samsung believes this is only the beginning of its innovations as pioneers in smart media devices."

Camera fun

The Samsung Galaxy Tab also has 3G HSUPA connectivity, 802.11n Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth 3.0 on board

The Galaxy Tab also has a front-facing camera which allows for face-to-face video phoning over 3G, a rear-facing camera captures still images and video (the camera is 3MP and is equipped with an LED flash) and it allows you to email and SMS to your heart's content.

The Samsung Galaxy Tab runs Flash too, and has the ability to play back Full HD video. Like the iPad it will be using a microSIM for connectivity, so expect a wave of telcos announcing they will be supporting the device soon.

There's no news on an official UK release date or pricing but Samsung is hinting it will be available "in the coming months".

Sony has announced its 5-inch Sony Reader Pocket PRS-350 ebook reader at IFA as well as a revamped version of the bigger 6-inch PRS-650 Reader Touch.

The Sony Reader Pocket and Touch UK release date is 17 September.

All the Reader models have touchscreens which you can use to swipe between pages in a book.

Sony says it has improved the quality of the E Ink Pearl electronic paper displays from the earlier generation Readers, making them better for reading text from.

The Reader Pocket Edition PRS-350 is available in silver and pink, while the PRS-650 (which takes over from the older PRS-600) is available in black and silver.

The cases are all aluminium. Sony says the screns are highly responsive yet we didn't find this when trying to select a book or other item on the screen.

However, moving between pages does only require a lightweight touch – we wonder if too lightweight.

Talking of lightweight, the new Readers weigh staggeringly little - 215g. Like the last-gen iPod nano it almost feels like there's no weight to it at all.

Each has 2GB of memory which, Sony says, will take up to 1,200 books. You're also able to look up words and phrases from the Oxford Dictionary while there are also 10 translation dictionaries.

The Touch Edition offers expansion slots for up to 32 GB of additional memory.

There's also a more intuitive zoom function, enabling you to hone in on interesting content, adjustable contrast and brightness control as well as automatic multiple page creation.

Orange seems to be the latest company to jump on the iPad-shaped bandwagon, with a new report claiming that it is working on its own tablet computer.

Les Echos, a French newspaper, is claiming that an Android tablet is being manufactured by a "large Asian manufacturer" which will end up being one of the cheapest on the market.

The tablet is said to be priced at around 250 Euros – a smidge over £200.

3G ready

The tablet would come with Orange branding and would be 3G enabled, which would mean that Orange would be able to offer subscriptions for the data package.

As the article states, this wouldn't actually be the first time that Orange has tried its hand at tablet computing.

Back in 2009, Orange released the Tabbeee, a tablet which housed a seven-inch touchscreen and was branded as a 'tablet organiser'.

It only actually made it to the French market, so fingers crossed that its latest attempt at making a tablet makes it across the pond.

Samsung has announced the launch of its first eBook reader in the UK.

The Samsung E60 is a slightly modified version of the Samsung SNE-60K which hit Korean stores earlier this year, and goes on sale online at WHSmith for £199.99. It'll hit highstreet stores on August 26.

Samsung visited TechRadar HQ recently where we were able to have a little play with the E60, as well as the Samsung E65 which will arrive shortly with a built-in QWERTY keyboard.

Let's start with the specs then.

The Samsung E60 comes packing 2GB of internal memory - enough to store 1,200 books - an SD card expansion slot and 802.11b/g Wi-Fi. You'll be able to make use of this Wi-Fi connection to download books and newspapers from the WHSmith eBook store, as well as share content with other Samsung eBook readers using the Emolink option.

So far, so totally predictable then.

There's no 3G-version anywhere to be seen (we were given a 'no comment' response when we asked if a 3G version was forthcoming), while other 'me-too' features include handwriting functionality for annotating books, MP3 support for listening to music while you read, as well as support for all standard eBook formats including ePub, PDF and TXT.

This will appeal to those people who already have a large collection of eBooks in PDF format and don't want to repurchase.

Oh and there's also a text-to-speech option which will read books to your kids for you if sound parenting isn't your bag.

So what did we think of the E60? It's a tidy little piece of kit, that's for sure. It operates very much like a Samsung sliderphone in that the screen slides upwards to reveal more controls underneath.

It's also a very solid build, with a nice clear e-paper display (800x600) and it has a firm feel to it – you'd have to give it a real good shunt if you were going to break it which is vital if you're going to be taking this with you on the tube everyday.

To that end, it's also not too heavy, though it's still significantly larger and more cumbersome than your average paperback, that's for sure.

The interface is fairly easy to navigate too – it's very similar, in fact, to those found on eBook readers from the likes of Sony and Amazon – which means it also suffers from the same drawbacks...

Ebook readers only use power when you turn a page or navigate the menu system, so static pages use no power at all. That's ideal for obvious reasons – the battery will last for 7000 page turns - but the downside to this is that just like most eBook readers, it's just not very responsive.

Page turns are not instantaneous, there's a brief but uncomfortable pause between your page-turn request and the next page being displayed. We were told that the E60 is "more responsive" than other eBook readers, but we beg to differ - performance is comparable to all the other eBook readers we've seen this year.

Samsung E65: coming soon with QWERTY keyboard

This all brings us down to how much it costs. It's available at whsmith.co.uk from today for £199.99 which is a heck of a lot of dosh, if you ask us.

That's the same price as the Wi-Fi version of the iRiver Story, which is also available at WHSmith.

In contrast, the new Amazon Kindle is set to cost just £109 for the non-Wi-Fi version and £149 for the version with free 3G.

How Samsung, iRiver and the rest expect anyone to fork out 200 quid in the face of that, we just cannot fathom.

• Hands on: new Amazon Kindle review

The Samsung Galaxy tab, a rival to the Apple iPad, looks like it is coming to the UK soon, with Vodafone accidently slipping out details that it is to carry the device.

Engadget has had an anonymous tip that the Samsung Galaxy Tab is on Vodafone's upcoming roster of devices, alongside the 'nearly new' BlackBerry 9105 (Pearl 3G) and the BlackBerry 9300 (Curve 3G).

Tab clear

The Samsung Galaxy Tab will make its debut at IFA 2010, where TechRadar will be in attendance to get one of the first hands-ons with the device.

Packing Android, an ARM11 CPU with a 1GHz processing speed and the possibility of an Super AMOLED screen, the Tab looks like it will be a true contender to the iPad's tablet throne.

The Vodafone leak doesn't contain a UK release date but we will update as soon as we get word.

Amazon is reportedly looking at new gadgets and hardware in addition to its hugely successful Kindle range of e-readers.

Amazon's online Kindle store has only recently launched in the UK but recent job postings at the company's R&D Lab 126 (the division responsible for the Kindle) shows a range of interesting new job vacancies such as Hardware Engineer and RF Systems Engineer.

The New York Times speculates that there is "a good chance these engineers will be recruited to build other gadgets that Amazon is prototyping in its secret labs."

What is inside Lab 126?

Citing sources close to Amazon's plans in this area, who chose to remain anonymous, the Times adds that, "Lab 126 has been looking into building other gadgets that it could sell to consumers."

One source said that new products were developed with one key objective – to make purchasing content available on Amazon as easy as possible. To date the focus has been on books, but this could well soon be expanded to cover music, movies and more.

"Jeff [Bezos]'s original goal for the lab was to build a range of other devices," said one source. "There was talk of music players and other electronics."

Exactly if and when we will see an Amazon-branded music and movie player is still to be confirmed, of course. Amazon has yet to comment on the rumours.

Even if you've got an iPhone, iPod touch or iPad, chances are that if you need to take files away with you, a USB stick will be your method of choice. But this needn't be the case – after all, your portable Apple device has a hard drive built into it.

However, using it as simple storage isn't intuitive at all. Anything you transfer to and from the device has to be done through iTunes, or in the case of images, iPhoto or Image Capture.

There's an easy way around this obstacle that doesn't involve jailbreaking. A little app called Phone Disk mounts the device on your desktop, meaning you can use it as you would a memory stick.

It will still appear in iTunes, as it normally would. All you need to do is install the lightweight application on any Mac where you want to use your iPhone, iPod or iPad in this way.

The best thing about Phone Disk is that it's free until 1 September 2010. You'll need to activate it using the registration code that's provided on the developer's website at www.macroplant.com/phonedisk.

Phone Disk unlocks other useful features on your Apple device too. It enables you to access the images you've taken using the built-in camera straight from Finder, meaning you can copy these to your Mac without using iPhoto or Image Capture. The Camera Roll is the only album you can currently access in this way, so albums that you've copied to your iPhone through iTunes or iPhoto are hidden away.

You can also copy images from your Mac to the Camera Roll on the device, to show off when you're out and about. We had some issues copying photos to the iPhone, but this was intermittent, so it may work fine for you.

Also, make sure you eject/unmount your iPhone/iPod before disconnecting it.

How to mount your iPod, iPhone or iPad like a USB drive

01. Note the number

Go to www.macroplant.com/phonedisk and start your download. Make a note of the registration code displayed on the homepage – you'll need to type it in manually later on. Then install Phone Disk. Its yellow icon should appear in your Applications folder.

02. Enter registration code

Double-click PhoneDisk. On the welcome screen, click Enter Registration Code. Now type in the code you wrote down earlier. Remember the dashes, and note that it's case-sensitive. Then click Unlock. You should see a message confirming that registration's been successful.

03. Menu bar icon

Phone Disk will now quit. Fire it up again by double-clicking its icon. If you'd like it to check for updates, click Check Automatically. On the welcome screen, uncheck the Show this menu when Phone Disk starts box and click Close Window. Note the icon in your menu bar.

04. Plug in your device

The icon will be grey if nothing's plugged in, but it'll turn yellow when you connect. Your iPod will appear on the Desktop. Double-click it to have a look inside. A lot of what you'll see shouldn't be touched, because they're files the device uses to work properly.

05. The portable hard drive

To use your iPod, iPhone or iPad as a portable disk, drag files and folders to it as you would with any other drive – just don't meddle with anything that's there already. Removing the device is simply a matter of dragging it to the Trash or pressing Command+Backspace.

06. View your photos

There's a folder on iPhones (but not iPads) called DCIM. Inside it, there's another called 100APPLE, which contains the images taken using the iPhone's camera. You can copy these across to your Mac without needing to use iPhoto or Image Capture.

07. Images from your Mac

Now find some photos on your Mac's hard drive, and copy them into the 100APPLE folder. They'll be renamed so that your device can display them correctly. These will then display in the Camera Roll on your iPhone, from where you can show them off out and about.

08. Launch at startup

To ensure you can always access your iPod, iPhone or iPad like a portable hard drive, set Phone Disk to load automatically when you start up your Mac. Click its icon in your menu bar, choose Preferences… and tick the Open Phone Disk when computer starts box.

TechRadar spoke to Amazon today about its new Kindle device which is set to hit the UK this August.

The refreshed Kindle range has been made 20 per cent smaller than previous devices and utilises new more readable e-ink, but features like colour and touchscreen technology are nowhere to be seen on the device.

There is a very good reason to this according to Amazon.

Speaking to Steve Kessel, senior vice president for Kindle at Amazon, he told TechRadar that there won't be a touchscreen version of the Kindle as this will impede on the user experience.

We won't compromise

"I don't think there will be a touchscreen version [of the Kindle] and let me tell you why: touch for an LCD display makes a ton of sense. Because touch is a layer which goes over the top. But an LCD is backlit so it doesn't matter," Kessel notes.

"But if you put touch on an e-ink display – a reflective display – then anything you put on the top ruins readability. You can already see this with some devices which are out on the market at the moment that have integrated touch into the displays.

"It increases glare and makes it more fuzzy. We won't do that; we won't compromise the reading experience because of the technology.

"Colour is the same, there isn't a great colour reflective display yet."

When we asked about the simple functionality of the Kindle and its general lack of features and gimmicks, Kessel explained: "We didn't want to design a gadget, we wanted to design a functional dedicated reading device."

There's no denying that the ebook market is one of the most burgeoning out there at the moment, with sales of ebooks overtaking sales of hardbacks and myriad devices arriving, which can take advantage of the thousands of digital books available online.

The question remains though: do you need a dedicated device for ebooks, or will phones and tablet devices suffice?

Amazon is doing its best to convince the world that dedicated devices are the way forward for ebooks and its new and improved Kindle shows this. Couple this with news that the e-tailer has finally launched a UK version of ebook store and it does seem that things are falling into place.

The new Kindle comes in two flavours: 3G and Wi-Fi, and Wi-Fi only. There's a £40 difference in the two Kindles, but the choice really comes down to how you want to consume your ebook content. If you are going to be buying books on the go, then the 3G version is for you.

If you are going to restrict your book buying to your Wi-Fi enabled home, or whenever you hit a hotspot, then this is the one you want.

The size of the device itself has been significantly reduced, but without any reduction to the reading area. This stays at a decent six inches.

The new slim look definitely suits the Kindle. It now feels like the paperback version, rather than a bulky hardback.

Weight-wise, it is a full 15 per cent lighter, making this one of the most comfortable ebook readers we have held. At 247g, there is absolutely no strain on the arm – it's even lighter than most paperbacks.

And it you choose Wi-Fi only, then the weight is snipped to a stupidly lean 241g.

Once we did take our eyes off of the look of the device – and the new granite chassis is very desirable – the thing that grabs your attention most is the screen. Yes, it's the same size as prior Kindle's but the e-ink is clearer, with Amazon bringing an all-new ink solution to the device.

It's of a higher contrast and even under the brightest sunlight, it looks brilliantly clear. The fonts have also been tweaked to be easier on the eye and pages turn that little bit faster.

There is still that jarring 'bleed' you get with page turns, but it is definitely speedier.

Memory size has also increased. You can now store 3,500 books on the Kindle. Which is an impressive feat, considering that's almost the whole of Barbara Cartland collection. Almost.

The battery life has also been extended so that you can now go a month without charging the thing. If you are heavy on the Wi-Fi use, though, this is restricted to just 10 days.

When it comes to the 3G, Amazon isn't messing around with microSIMs, but is giving its 3G away for free, so you don't have to worry about the cash you are spending on data transfers. Given the rather small files ebooks come in, we doubt you would be worried about this but it is a decent gesture anyway.

Something has clicked with the new Kindle. If you are unsure about a dedicated ebook device, then this is something which may well change your mind.

In relation to other devices on the market it is cheap. When it comes to font clarity, nothing else competes and direct access to the Kindle store from the device means you aren't tied to a computer when you use the thing.

We never thought we'd say it but maybe time is ticking away for the humble paperback.

The new Amazon Kindle UK release date is 27 August. It will cost £149 with the free 3G (supplied by Vodafone) or £109 for a Wi-Fi only version.

Dedicated sat nav manufacturers are increasingly under threat from free and low-cost mobile navigation apps, with developers of new app Skobbler announcing this week that it has been downloaded 72,000 times since launch in the UK last month.

Skobbler's free sat nav app for the iPhone, has actually proved more popular in the UK than in the company's native country, Germany, where it first launched a few months ago.

Sat nav market under threat?

"Skobbler was not the first to market with a free-to-use phone-based navigation solution in the UK" says Tim Shepherd, analyst with personal navigation device (PND) specialists Canalys, "with solutions from Nokia and Google arriving in January and April respectively. But there has not as yet been a credible, free solution for the iPhone in the UK. As such, Skobbler has the possibility of making a significant impact in the App Store.

"Without a strong, established brand, this kind of application can only present a significant direct challenge to leading vendors such as TomTom and Navigon if its profile is raised high enough to create substantial market awareness; though having achieved 72,000 downloads in just three weeks, initial signs are promising."

To put skobblers' 72000 downloads into some perspective, Canalys notes that a total of 266,000 dedicated sat nav devices (or PNDs) were shipped into the UK market in Q1 2010. Compared with those sat nav sales figures, skobbler's 3-week-volume is the equivalent of 27.1 per cent of all UK PND shipments in the first quarter of 2010.

"We are only just getting started in the UK," says Marcus Thielking, co-founder of skobbler. "It's early days and to have experienced such success in such a short amount of time is quite overwhelming and encouraging. It demonstrates again just how popular mobile phone navigation is becoming.

"We are over the moon that so many users have already embraced the community-driven collaborative OpenStreetMap project that our app is based on, and are very encouraged that the concept will continue to evolve into the future of sat nav", adds Thielking.

TomTom, Garmin and map quality

With a new Google Android version of skobbler on the way this month, using community maps from OpenStreetMap (OSM), it clearly begs the question: "how long can dedicated sat nav manufacturers such as TomTom and Garmin survive?"

However, before we are too quick to write off the market for dedicated sat nav devices, specialist analyst Tim Shepherd adds a word of caution, noting that, "map accuracy and reliability are big issues," adding that, "problematically, solutions based on open community maps cannot typically deliver the quality and accuracy of map data offered by the likes of Navteq and Tele Atlas in developed markets, backed by their large, professional, digital cartography teams and substantial investment.

"Community maps will never be subjected to comparable levels of quality testing. As such, map data glitches and inaccuracies in solutions that depend on these maps will inevitably deliver an inferior user experience and offer less additional content and services around the core navigation experience than consumers have come to expect from a satellite navigation solution.

That said, Shepherd is quick to add that established players in the sat nav market should not ignore such solutions.

"For people who need navigation for only occasional or recreational use, an application such as Skobbler may well be enough for their needs. If these users find the experience to be a good one, then awareness spreads virally through word-of-mouth and positive online reviews and recommendations.

Community maps are disruptive

Perhaps most importantly, for the UK consumer, the presence of free and ultra-low-cost solutions such as skobbler, "inevitably draws attention to the comparative expense of those from leading vendors ," such as TomTom's UK & Ireland app (currently £52.99).

"In these ways, community maps based solutions like Skobbler have the potential to be disruptive," adds the PND industry analyst. "In a wider context, phone-based navigation solutions are inevitably coming increasingly into competition with dedicated portable navigation devices (PNDs). The presence of free phone-based navigation solutions does not inevitably sound a death knell for dedicated portable navigation devices (PNDs) in the UK.

"There will always be consumers who will prefer to buy a dedicated device for navigation, that is ready to use with all the necessary in-car accessories out-of-the-box, and that offers a large screen and user interface designed and optimised specifically for in-car navigation use.

"But as consumers in general become increasingly aware of phone-based navigation solutions as a free (or competitive) alternative to PNDs, and as the experience delivered by phone-based solutions and applications continues to improve with larger touch screens,, a growing number of consumers will undoubtedly opt to have navigation on their phone rather than buy a PND, or replace an old one. I do not expect the PND market to disappear in the foreseeable future, but I do anticipate a substantial decline in shipments over the coming quarters and years ahead."

If you want to check out skobbler for yourself on iPhone then is available to download for FREE at the UK App Store and you can see more on the company's plans for future developments at the company blog over at blog.skobbler.com

A new in-depth, qualitative study has compared the average reading speeds from reading long-form texts on four different reading devices – the traditional printed book, the PC, the Apple iPad and the Amazon Kindle.

Jakob Nielsen's reading usability study looked to answer one simple question: are the latest e-books and tablet PCs as good as printed books?

iPad versus Kindle versus book

"We conducted a readability study of people reading fiction on the two highest-profile tablets: Apple's iPad (first-generation) and Amazon's Kindle 2," notes Nielsen.

The study was conducted using Apple's default iBook app and focused on testing "linear, narrative content because it's the primary use case for e-book readers."

Readers were taught how to use both the Apple and Amazon e-readers before the study, so the focus could be purely on measuring and comparing reading speeds.

Method

We ran a within-subjects study, testing each user on all 4 reading conditions — printed book, PC, iPad, and Kindle — rotating the sequence in which we exposed users to each device.

"On each device, we asked each user to read a short story by Ernest Hemingway," Nielsen explains. "We picked Hemingway because his work is pleasant and engaging to read, and yet not so complicated that it would be above the heads of users."

The stories took 17 minutes and 20 seconds to read on average, with all 32 users in the study being people "who like reading and frequently read books…because we wanted to focus on the people most likely to actually read long texts on tablets."

The results show that the Apple iPad measures at 6.2 per cent lower reading speed than the printed book and that the Amazon Kindle measured at 10.7 per cent slower than print.

Conclusions: books win

"The difference between the two devices was not statistically significant because of the data's fairly high variability," notes Nielsen.

"Thus, the only fair conclusion is that we can't say for sure which device offers the fastest reading speed. In any case, the difference would be so small that it wouldn't be a reason to buy one over the other.

And while Nielsen concludes "that tablets still haven't beaten the printed book" he also notes that the study "is promising for the future of e-readers and tablet computers."

More details on Nielsen's qualitative findings on users' reactions to reading e-books and tablet PCs will be presented at next month's Writing for the Web session at the annual Usability Week conference.

Amazon has launched a new version of its Kindle DX e-reader in the US.

The new Amazon DX is $110 cheaper than its predecessor, retailing for $379 (£254) down from the previous price of $489 (£328).

Amazon will also offer free always-on global 3G wireless coverage with its Kindle DX reader, which should appeal to those readers that don't want to get locked into costly monthly mobile data contracts.

Easier on the eye

The new Kindle DX has a 9.7-inch screen and 50 per cent higher contrast than the current model, said Amazon. This means a clearer distinction between the black and white areas of the screen and, the company claims, a reading experience that is even easier on the eye.

No word from Amazon as yet on plans for a UK launch, but we will be sure to update you when we hear more on those plans.

The new Kindle has some serious competition in the e-books market, following the recent launch of Apple's iPad and its popular iBooks application. The cheapest US-version of the Apple iPad retails at $499 in the States.

Amazon also recently upgraded its own Apple iPad and iPhone/iPod touch app to include improved video and audio-playback from Kindle e-books.

The new Amazon Kindle DX is set to officially launch in the US on July 7. More news on plans for a UK launch to follow.

There are rumours that Amazon may be readying to release a full colour Kindle e-reader in time for Christmas, following a Mirasol screen tech product demo this week.

At a product demo at Qualcomm in San Diego – Mirasol's parent company – the company's Marketing Director, Cheryl Goodman, confirmed that contracts have been signed and that the new colour screen technology would be in 5.7 inch e-readers later in 2010.

Full-colour video e-reader

Mirasol's MEMs-based reflective full colour display tech is now capable of being manufactured at any size. The company promises smartphone screens for consumer devices will be arriving later in 2012.

Mirasol's screens are able to run video content, and require a miniscule 1mW of power to run. In comparison, it takes 100 milliwatts to power an equivalent AMOLED screen.

Goodman explained that Mirasol trials have delivered 30 frames per second rates for video playback and that the tech is able to support optical and resistive touchscreens.

Better battery life

"Battery power is a huge issue and all the new features in phones are adding extra pressure. But still it's the display that drains the battery the most, so we're very excited about what Mirasol can do," said Goodman.

"Activity will come from the e-reader sector first," said Cheryl Goodman, director of marketing, Qualcomm MEMS Technologies. "We are working towards the end of the year, beginning of next, and with multiple vendors."

When asked directly about future plans for the Amazon Kindle, Goodman declined to answer, telling Pocket-lint, "multiple deals are in the queue."

You can see video demos and more on Mirasol's vision for the future of the e-reader over at the company's website.

Makers of the Kindle and Nook e-book readers have slashed the cost of their devices in the US, as they look to counter the threat of Apple's iPad.

Although the Apple iPad is a significantly more powerful device than readers like the Amazon Kindle and the Nook, the device has become a major threat to that market.

Apple's iBooks store has quickly become a major player in the industry, and the response of Amazon and Barnes and Noble has been to make significant cuts to their devices.

Less than $200

The 3G enabled Nook was the first to be reduced – coming down from $259 (£175) to $199 (£135), with the 3G Kindle coming down from $259 to $189 (£128).

Both companies have seen their shares go down in price since the Apple iPad arrived, but it remains to be seen if the price cuts can save people plumping for a little extra spend for a much more powerful device.

It will also be interesting to see if the prices of e-book readers in the UK come down as well.

A new music streaming service set to arrive soon, following Google's recent purchase of music streaming specialists Simplify Media, was one of the more interesting announcements made at this week's Google I/O developer event in San Francisco.

In addition to the higher-profile announcements surrounding Google TV and Android 2.2, Google also outlined its plans to take on Apple's dominance of the online and digital music industry, using Simplify's tech to offer Android users the opportunity to buy music online and have it automatically synced and streamed to their mobile phone.

In addition to this, users will be able to access all the digital music that they own and store on their hard drives on their PCs at home – very much like you can already do if you own and use Simplify's wonderful iPhone app (which disappeared from the App Store with little fanfare following the company's acquisition by Google).

Apple in LaLa land

In turn, Apple's recent purchase of LaLa – which will soon let users do very much the same thing, streaming music from their home PC to their iPods or iPhones – is a clear indicator of the future direction of how digital music will be licensed, purchased and distributed.

The only real question now about the cloud-based plans that Apple has for iTunes is simply this - "when are they going to announce them?"

Another Android-based music streaming service called mSpot, was also demonstrated to industry and press at this week's I/O event, showing that Google is certainly more than open to healthy competition in this space.

mSpot is currently in a private, invitation-only beta and is set to be launched to the general public next month. Again, the service synchronizes the user's personal music library to the cloud where the user can then access it using any Android mobile or any PC or Mac.

The free version of mSpot will only allow users to store up to 2 gigabytes of music online and the company is planning a 10 gigabyte and 20 gigabyte premium service for $2.99 and $4.99 respectively, for US users initially. Plans for an unlimited storage option are still to be finalised.

Providing compelling experiences

mSpot CEO Daren Tsui said: "We recognize that portability is key to a compelling music experience for consumers, and the biggest challenge for music cloud services to tackle today. mSpot has spent the past five years perfecting its proprietary over-the-air delivery technology so music plays from the cloud so fast it feels local - even when cell coverage is spotty or non-existent."

Google's own music-streaming-on-the-go plans are based around one objective – to make syncing music to multiple devices as easy as possible for non-techie music fans. As such, the demo that Google showed off highlighted how you will be able to purchase a tune using your PC and have it automatically added to your Android device – with no need to even install extra apps to your mobile or to sync it with messy wires to your PC.

It's a compelling proposition, although details on Google's deals with any of the major labels are still to be revealed. And, of course, Apple has the 'elephant in the corner of the room' in the shape of its immense iTunes music store. Will Google create its own store? Or will it partner with others such as Amazon or 7digital? All of these questions are still to be answered.

It is also unclear where these latest developments will leave current music streaming services such as Spotify and We7. TechRadar has contacted contacted Spotify, We7, 7digital and Apple for further comment on these latest developments in the digital music distribution industry – so stay tuned for updates on progress as an when we get them.

Coolermaster has unveiled the PowerFort as part of its lifestyle Choiix range, a portable battery for your devices.

The ChoiixPowerFort 10Whrs, to give it its full name, can deal with USB, micro USB or mini USB devices.

"Nowadays, people have multiple mobile devices such as, MP3 players, smartphones, and handheld game consoles," said CoolerMaster.

Reliance

"Reliance on these devices to get your work done, stay connected, and be entertained is greater than ever," it adds.

"The Choiix Power Fort fills the need for emergency and convenience charging and ensures that you never again have to worry about your device failing at a critical moment.

"The Power Fort is a portable battery backup that is compatible with most mobile devices with a micro or mini USB port."

And, if you're not yet sold, the device also has a built in torch. Why? We don't really know either…

If the record industry had come up with Spotify a decade ago, it might not be in the mess it's in today.

The free, ad-supported version could have kept people away from the pirate networks, and while the paid-for numbers aren't huge (250,000 paying subscribers at the beginning of 2010, compared to 7 million users in total) Spotify is still persuading them to pay for music - something that's eluded plenty of other legal services.

So could the same kind of service work for books, bringing novels to the massed ranks of Kindle, Nook, Reader and iPad owners?

It's not as bizarre as it sounds, because we have real-world equivalents for both its free and subscriber services. Libraries give books away for nothing - or seem to; in reality authors get a little bit of money in the form of Public Lending Right (PLR) royalties, a gap that online ad revenues could easily plug - while book clubs have offered heavily discounted prices to subscribers for decades.

Could similar ideas work online? Sara Lloyd is Digital Director at Pan Macmillan, one of the world's biggest publishers. "I think both could work for consumers and the trick will be in developing a commercial model that works for authors and publishers, too," she says.

PRINT TO SCREEN: Traditional publishers certainly aren't ignoring the internet. Blogs such as Macmillan's Digitalist attempt to make sense of publishing's future

The commercial model may be the hard bit. Earlier this month Warner Music Group announced that it would no longer licence its music to free streaming services because, from its perspective, there simply isn't enough money in it.

"The 'get all your music you want for free, and then maybe with a few bells and whistles we can move you to a premium price' strategy is not the kind of approach to business that we will be supporting in the future," CEO Edgar Bronfman told the BBC. "Free streaming services are clearly not net positive for the industry."

Similar noises are coming from the print industry, particularly in newspapers and magazines. Rupert Murdoch closed his free newspaper The London Paper late last year and intends to put his newspapers behind paywalls.

The reality is that there's only so much advertising money to go round, and for every Metro - an enormous global operation that manages to make money from free content - there's a London Paper bleeding red ink.

Backers need patience

No matter what business model ebook services adopt, the backers will need to be patient. As digital media expert Mark Mulligan of Forrester Research points out, the music and book markets are different - so it'll take much longer for any book-related service to take off.

"The diversity of experience between the digital and analogue experiences of books and recorded music are highly different," he says.

"For music the physical component is the delivery vehicle, not the content itself - artwork aside. For books the physical media is the experience itself. Added to this, music aficionados skew younger than book aficionados. So the audience less geared towards digital than music. With that caveat considered, a book subscription could absolutely make sense. We have the proven success of libraries and to a lesser degree, book clubs, to demonstrate the interest."

There's one area where subscriptions may be essential. "Subscription offerings are a must for the academic sector," Mulligan says. "Without them a P2P sector will flourish." Persuading students to pay for subscriptions could be a problem, though. "It makes sense [that] the cost of a subscription [is] bundled into tuition fees."

Spotify isn't just about streaming music: it's a social service, too, enabling people to publish playlists or collaborate on group playlists.

That's a powerful sales tool, so of course publishers are paying attention. "I think there has been some excitement amongst the bigger publishers about what potential there might be in social networks based around books," Lloyd says.

"There have been various experiments in that area, such as HarperCollins' Book Army or Random House's Readers' Place. My own view is that generic, 'book lover'-based social network sites are strategically uninteresting, because 'book readers' are not part of a self-defined niche who are itching to interact and share with each other online just within the 'box' of reading and books."

SHARED TASTES: One of Spotify's best features is its collaborative playlists, which enable you to enjoy or mess with other people's musical ideas

So a Facebook for books probably won't work - but that doesn't mean book-focused social networking is a bad idea. "What can work, though, is online communities around particular genre-based niches," Lloyd says. "For example, Macmillan's Tor.com is a SFF [Sci-Fi/Fantasy] category site. It's publisher neutral and features original content created specifically for the site as well as blog content from authors. It's been a huge success."

The combination of such a network and a subscription service could be amazing. Your favourite authors could create book 'playlists' of their influences or recommendations, enabling you to download the books immediately - and helping publishers to sell older titles.

The trick is to keep computers out of it as much as possible. "I think that person to person recommendation is powerful and more interesting than automated recommendation engines, which ultimately tend to offer you more stuff like the stuff you've already tried rather than challenging you to try something new, so a streaming service that is primarily about accessing/purchasing the content but [that] has social networking features built in is attractive from that perspective."

Back to serialisation?

It's been suggested that ebooks could also herald the return of serialisation, with books published in regular instalments just as they were in Dickens' day.

However, as horror master Stephen King has found out the hard way, online audiences don't seem too keen. Perhaps the problem was simply one of payment: when King wrote The Plant in 2000, he vowed to stop if fewer than 75% of readers paid for it. Fewer than 75% paid for it. He stopped.

BIT BY BIT: Stephen King's 2000 attempt at ebook serialisation wasn't a success - but a subscription service might give authors a way to make money in instalments

"I'm still not convinced by the serial idea, and I think maybe it is more a cultural than a technical issue… maybe around certain niches this would work," Lloyd says.

"It's like the way everyone says digital will bring back the short story. I don't agree with that either because I think short stories - in our markets at least - are generally not satisfying enough for the majority of consumers. But if you asked Harlequin, who are romance publishers whose business has moved online massively, their digital shorts at a really low price sell very well.

"That's because in the case of that market, generally female romance readers, the ease and convenience of a short online story appeals to them, either as something to read at their desk in their lunch break or on their mobile or PDA while they sit at the kid's soccer match, for example."

"This is a really good example of using digital to deliver to a particular market in a way that fits in with their lifestyle. But it wouldn't work for every market; it's a case of ensuring you don't do things just because digital enables it -- you need to customise the delivery and the experience to suit the market."

Mark Mulligan believes that the move to digital will split the book market in two. "Uptake will polarize book audiences," he predicts. "Aficionados with densely stacked booked shelves will cling onto the physical form factor longer than music aficionados have clung onto the CD (though perhaps equal to vinyl fans). Those who skew more towards best sellers will be low hanging fruit for a subscription offering."

Lloyd agrees that in ebook publishing, one size definitely does not fit all. "I think like all interesting and emerging digital media markets it'll be a mixture," she says.

"People will test out different ways of accessing and consuming ebooks and then either settle on their preferred method or go for different modes for different aspects of their book reading. For example, with music, some people use Spotify like the radio, to test out new stuff, but download from iTunes the stuff they're really interested in 'owning' or keeping long term."

Industry analysts at Deloitte have already declared that 2010 is set to be the year of the net tablet, with major computer manufacturers such as Apple, HP/Microsoft and Asus already preparing to launch their own dedicated tablet computers to the consumer market this year.

Tablet computers are nothing new, of course, having been sold and marketed to the business and specialist medical sectors for years. But up to now, such devices have never really taken hold in the consumer market.

Apple, for one, clearly thinks that this situation is about to change drastically in 2010.

Web-connected portable devices – 'NetTabs' or 'iTablets' or whatever we (and the manufacturers) end up calling them - will sell to "tens of millions" of people worldwide this year, according to Deloitte.

NetTab e-readers

Deloitte adds that NetTabs will be popular with network providers, but also that consumers will "demand big upfront subsidies" because these devices will be costlier than smartphones.

As far as ebook readers and ebooks, Deloitte predicts sales of 5 million ebook readers globally by Christmas, though adds that of the 100m ebooks it expects to be sold this year, most will be read on NetTabs, smartphones or PCs.

Then of course, there is the emerging problem of ebook piracy, which publishers will have to learn new ways to combat.