eBookGuide.com.au The Definitive Australian Guide to eBooks & eBook Readers

Apple has announced that the Australian iPad will go on sale in Australia on May 28 with the base model priced at $629.

The international release of the iPad has been delayed due to heavy US demand.

The Australian iPad will retail for following prices for Wi-Fi only models in Australia:

• 16GB – $629

• 32GB – $759

• 64GB – $879

For the Wi-Fi plus 3G models, Apple has announced these prices:

• 16GB- $799

• 32GB – $928

• 64GB – $1049

Australian iPad user have to wait a few more weeks to get our hands on the breakthrough new device from Apple but not so in the US where it launched this week. Most of the main technology bloggers and journalists have now got their first iPads and are quickly putting out their initial reviews.

Here is a number of the more prominent bloggers and journalists have to say about the iPad.

Walt Mossberg – Wall St Journal

“I believe this beautiful new touch-screen device from Apple has the potential to change portable computing profoundly.”

Michael Arrington – TechCrunch

“The experience was stunning. It’s a nearly flawless device. And the iPad beats even my most optimistic expectations. This is a new category of device.”

Engadget.com

“The browsing experience on the iPad is amazing. It is smooth, fast, and fluid. The screen displays beautifully in landscape or portrait, the scrolling is buttery, touch response is out of this world, and you can easily pinch-to-zoom all over the place with nary a hiccup. The finger-based navigation really is kind of spectacular, and it makes browsing weirdly like rediscovering an old friend.”

Amazon have just released the Kindle for iPad application into the Apps Store.

The Kindle for iPad application features a new user interface tailored to the look and feel of iPad.

The app lets users select from over 450,000 books from the Kindle Store on iPad and features Amazon Whispersync technology that saves and synchronizes customers’ last page read, bookmarks, notes, and highlights across their Kindle, Kindle DX, iPhone, iPod touch, Mac, iPad, PC and Blackberry.

Kindle for iPad Book Store

The page turning has been given some attention and now resembles the page turning animation of the iBook application.

Features of the Kindle App for iPad include:

• Automatically Syncs with Kindle and Kindle Compatible Devices: Amazon’s Whispersync technology automatically syncs customers’ last page read, bookmarks, notes, and highlights across Kindle, Kindle DX, Kindle for iPhone, Kindle for Mac, Kindle for iPad, and more. Customers can read on their Kindle, read some on their iPad or Mac, and always pick up where they left off.
• Updated User Interface: The Kindle App user interface is tailored to the large size, look, and feel of iPad. The new user interface with bold colors, animation, and seamless user experience make Kindle on iPad a unique reading experience.
• Customizable Appearance: Customers can choose to dim iPad’s screen within the app to make reading easier regardless of the ambient light or time of day. Readers can also choose from three different background colors and alter the font color and size to customize the reading experience and help ease the strain on their eyes.
• Page Turn Animation: Kindle App for iPad offers an interactive experience with page turn animation designed to replicate the look of a page turning in a book. Customers who prefer a simpler, unadorned reading experience can choose the “Basic Reading Mode” option and turn off animation.

The Kindle App for iPad is available for free from the App Store on iPad or at www.itunes.com/appstore.

Amazon.com, recently  announced that the Kindle for Mac application is available for free download. The announcement follows on from the Kindle for PC and Kindle from Blackberry announcements that now have the Kindle on every major computer and smartphone handset.

Kindle for Mac is missing a number of features such as including full text search and the ability to create and edit notes and highlights however Amazon states that these will be available in the near future.

Kindle for Mac is available now as a free download for OSX 10.5 and above systems.

eBookGuide.com.au has a brand new Apple iPad to win just by signing up to our FREE newsletter. To signup, simply complete the entry form in the top right of the page.

The lucky winner will be drawn on June 30, 2010.

Make sure you tell your friends about this competition!

Congratulations to Ian Teoh from Melbourne for being the lucky winner of our Australian Kindle giveaway that ended on February 28. He was quoted as saying

“Wow, fantastic. Thanks so much”

Your Australian Kindle is on the way from Amazon.com

Didn’t win? We have an Australian Apple iPad to giveaway on June 30 so as long as you remain on the eBookGuide.com.au mailing list you are in with a chance to win. Not a member? simply signup at the top right of the page for your chance to win.

1. Information on how to enter and prizes form part of these conditions of entry.
2. Entry is open to residents of Australia who are current members of BookOffers.com.au or ebookguide.com.au. Employees and their immediate families of the Promoter, participating outlets and agencies associated with this promotion are ineligible to enter.
3. To enter, entrants must complete the Online Entry Form found on BookOffers.com.au during the promotional period and provide their name, & email address.
4. Only one entry per BookOffers.com.au or ebookguide.com.au member is allowed per entry period. Where more than one entry is lodged by the same person or address, only the entry received first will be deemed valid.
5. This is a game of chance. Skill plays no part in determining the winning entries.
6. Cancellation of BookOffers.com.au or ebookguide.com.au membership during the promotional period and up to and including the date of draw will void entry.
7. The Promoter reserves the right to verify the validity of entries. The Promoter reserves the right to disqualify any entrant for tampering with the entry process or for submitting an entry which is not in accordance with these terms and conditions.
8. Promotion commences 1 March 2010. Entries close 5pm AEST on 30 June 2010.
9. The entry determined as the winner will win 1 copy of each specified in the prize conditions.
10. The draw will take place at 6pm on June 30 2010 at 48/450 Elizabeth St Surry Hills NSW 2010. All entries received in the promotion entry period will be placed in a barrel and one winner selected at random.
11. The Promoter will notify the winners by email only (to their registered BookOffers.com.au or ebookguide.com.au email address) and publish their name on BookOffers.com.au and ebookguide.com.au within 5 working days of the draw taking place.
12. The Promoter’s decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into. Prize is not transferable or exchangeable and cannot be taken as cash.
13. The Prize is 1 Apple iPad 16GB with WiFi . Total prize pool value is estimated to be USD$499.($600 AUD)  Refer to this website for exact prize details – http://www.apple.com/au/ipad/
14. In the event of any prize/s being unclaimed by the more than 5 business days subsequent to the draw, further judging will take place to determine replacement winner/s. Winner/s in any replacement judging will be notified by email as soon as practical and their name/s published on BookOffers.com.au and ebookguide.com.au.
15. Prize values are the recommended retail values as provided by the suppliers and are correct at the time of printing. The Promoter accepts no responsibility for any variation in the value of the prize.
16. The Promoter accepts no responsibility for late, lost or misdirected entries.
17. Any costs associated with accessing the promotional website are the entrant’s responsibility and are dependent on the Internet service provider used. Any contact details entered incorrectly on the website shall be deemed invalid.
18. The Promoter is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunction of any telephone network or lines, computer on-line systems, servers or providers, computer equipment, software, technical problems or traffic congestion on the Internet or at any web site, or any combination thereof, or any other technical failures, including but not limited to any injury or damage to participants’ or any other person’s computer related to or resulting from participation in or down-loading any materials in this competition
19. If for any reason this competition is not capable of running as planned (including but not limited to) infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorised intervention, fraud, technical failures or any other causes beyond the control of the Promoter which corrupt or affect the administration security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of this competition, the Promoter reserves the right in its sole discretion to cancel, postpone, or amend this competition.
20. The Promoter shall not be liable for any loss or damage whatsoever which is suffered (including but not limited to indirect or consequential loss) or for any personal injury suffered or sustained, as a result of accepting and/or using the prize except for any liability which cannot be excluded by law.
21. The Promoter collects entrants’ personal information in order to conduct the promotion. If the information requested is not provided, the entrant may not participate in the promotion. By entering the promotion, unless otherwise advised, each entrant also agrees that the Promoter may use this information, or disclose it to other organisations that may use it, in any media for future promotional, marketing and publicity purposes without any further reference, payment or other compensation to the entrant. Entrants’ personal information may be disclosed to relevant Governmental departments. A request to access, update or correct any information should be directed to the Promoter at their address set out below or by writing to admin @ BookOffers.com.au
22. The promoter will publicise the competition on the main page of BookOffers.com.au or ebookguide.com.au as well as on various other Australian Competition websites. No TV, radio, or print media advertising will be done.

23. The Promoter is RAM Internet Marketing 450 Elizabeth St Surry Hills; ABN 42509066448. NSW LTPS/10/01755

Amazon has released the Kindle for Blackberry application. It complements the list of Kindle applications available for non Kindle users with only Mac and iPad left to release.

Kindle for BlackBerry lets customers bring their Kindle books with them wherever they go. With the new Kindle for BlackBerry app, customers can:

• Search and browse more than 420,000 books, including 102 of 112 New York Times Bestsellers, directly from their BlackBerry
• Shop the in-app store for an optimized Kindle shopping experience – browse and download samples and full books without leaving the app
• Read the beginning of books for free before they buy
• Access their library of previously purchased Kindle books stored on Amazon’s servers
• Automatically synchronize the last page read between their Kindle-compatible devices
• Create bookmarks and view annotations they created on their Kindle, Kindle DX, or Kindle for iPhone and iPod touch
• Adjust the text size of books
• Read books in full color, including children’s books, cookbooks, travel books, textbooks and graphic novels

Now that you have your Kindle, you’ll want to fill it up with cheap or free books from the Kindle store.

eBookGuide.com.au has a special link that not only finds the free ebooks for your Australian Kinde, but also all the cheap books available as well.

What are waiting for? Browse the cheap and free Kindle ebooks now.

Amazon announced last week that Kindle authors and publishers can lock in 70% of the sale price of a ebooks published through the Amazon Digital Text Publishing system.

• The 70% does not include e-delivery costs of around 6c per book
• Books must be listed between $2.99 and $9.99
• eBook price must be 20% below that of a physical book sale price
• The eBook must be available in all territories the author or publisher has rights for
• Only available for in-copyright works – so no old titles < 1923

There was no word from Amazon on when or if this would be rolled out worldwide or at least to the countries that Kindles can now be purchased, hopefully Australia will follow shortly.