Borders Announces Libre Pro Low-Cost eBook Reader

Borders announced their new, low-cost eBook reader, the Libre Pro. Unlike Barnes & Noble’s Nook, the Libre reader utilizes a customary LCD screen, not eInk, technology. It’s $119 price tag, however, places it as the lowest-priced reader on the market and has forced other eBook readers to lower their price tags as well.

The Libre Pro measures 6x4 inches and weighs in at under 8 ounces. The LCD screen uses reflective light technology to simulate the eInk experience. While it only has 256MB of memory built-in, it offers an SD card reader, capable of 32GB cards and its USB connectivity allows for drag and drop syncing from both Macs and PCs. Borders will also package 100 eBooks they deem “classics” right in the box. It comes to Borders July 20th. If you can’t wait and don’t mind paying a bit more, you can also buy one online at Amazon.com or Sears.com right now.

Feeling the heat from multi-tasking Android devices, Apple released its new, free iOS 4 software upgrade on June 21st. According to Apple, it comes with over 100 new features, including multitasking and the ability to change the background wallpaper on your home screen. The news is music to the ears of iPhone 3G and 3GS owners. However not all the features of the new software are available on all devices. iPhone 3G owners, for one, will not be able to use the multitasking features.

The iPhone 4G hit stores June 24. Along with the new iOS 4 software, the new iPhone boasts a 5MP camera with built-in LED flash, HD video recording and editing ability with iMovie, a front-facing camera enabling iPhone-to-iPhone video chat over Wi-Fi and the most brilliant, high resolution screen to date. Apple has enhanced the manufacturing process by eliminating nearly all of the space between the LCD screen and the plastic casing. The result is a very bright and clear screen that looks great at nearly every angle.

Within hours of the phone’s release, Apple came under fire about apparent antenna issues. Their new antenna wraps itself around the entire outside of the phone. Simply holding the lower left corner of the phone causes the antenna to fail on some, though not all, of the new devices.

Apple’s official response was that all phones do this to some extent. Steve Jobs actually told one user to hold it differently. Apple also suggests the use of one of their $29 bumper covers to eliminate the antenna issue. Many believe Apple is not out of the woods on this engineering faux pas.

On June 23, the day before Apple newest iPhone hit the stores, Verizon teamed up with Motorola, Google and Adobe to annonce what they refer to as the “next generation of Droid.” Android version 2.2, named Froyo, was a large part of the announcement. Adobe confirmed that the latest version of the smartphone operating system supports Adobe Flash Player 10.1. Google also announced Froyo is now open-sourced, allowing manufacturers to give customized experiences that will only benefit the consumer.

The next major announcement was Droid X, the latest Motorola Device. The Droid X boasts a 4.4-inch screen, 8MP camera and a 1GHz processor twice the speed of the original Motorola Droid. It comes with 8GB of memory and a Micro SD card slot capable of an additional 32GB. While the phone is black on the outside and green on the inside. Its components are PVC-free, bromine-free, mercury-free and arsenic-free. It arrives in U. S. stores only on July 15 for $199.99.

According to Andy Rubin, Google’s VP of Engineering, every day 160,000 Android devices are activated every day. Now even Dell is getting into the game. At the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in May, Dell introduced their 5-inch Android smartpPhone. More recently in their labs in Texas, Dell hosted their annual consumer advisory panel and gave consumers a chance to get some hands-on time with them.

Dell’s Smartphone will include a 1GHz processor, a 5MP camera with dual LED flash, integrated 3G and Wi-Fi, a MicroSD slot, capable of 32GB cards and a second screen-side camera for future planned video chat functionality.

Packaged with all the bundled Google Apps and the Android App Market, Dell says it will also bundle in Microsoft Exchange integration through an app called TouchDown. More news and a price tag will be forthcoming from Dell this summer.

Samsung is also sharing in the Summer of Android Love. Samsung hosted a press event on June 29th that focused on their new Galaxy line of Android smartphones. The Galaxy S Pro has become Sprint’s second 4G phone. It also features features a 1GHz processor, Super AMOLED display for better viewing in sunlight, 8.2 GB of internal storage, a 5MP camera and second, front-facing VGA camera. It runs Android 2.1, but the over-the-air 2.2 updates are expected this summer.