Gadgets, Ereader | featured news

SolarFocus will introduce SolarKindle, billed as “the world’s first solar powered e-reader cover” at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) which gets underway on Monday. The cover will have a built-in solar panel with a dual-charging (USB and solar) reserve battery. The company said that there is “a guarentee of three-months of unplugged Kindle use” under normal sunlight environment.

Apple has sold more than three million iPads since April, but Amazon’s success with the Kindle is cloudier because it doesn’t reveal sales numbers.

Amazon.com Inc. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bezos cut prices and added features to the Kindle to defend it against a threat from Apple Inc. in the fast- growing market for electronic readers. Amazon introduced two new versions of the device today, including a $139 model that works with Wi-Fi. A second version, with 3G mobile technology as well as Wi-Fi to download books, costs $189. Bloomberg News reported details in May about Amazon’s plans for the Kindle, its bestselling product.

Amazon has sold out of its least expensive Kindle, perhaps providing further evidence of the e-reader's popularity or signaling a new device in the offing.

The e-reader's introduces a new social features. PCMag takes it for a for a test drive.

Borders just announced that they're selling the Kobo eReader, an $149 ebook touted, by Wired, no less, as a Kindle killer. This device isn't formally Border's only ebook reader. Instead, they will sell multiple readers online and in stores and the real news is that they're creating an ebook store that will act as their default spot on the interwebs for ebooks and content.