Xiaomi iReader T6 is for Sale!

Xiaomi Corporation, a Chinese electronics company headquartered in Beijing, makes and invests in smartphones, mobile apps, laptops, and related consumer electronics. Later Xiaomi developed a wider range of consumer electronics, including a smart home device ecosystem. Interestingly, one popular product category that it has essentially missed is an Amazon Kindle competitor. It turns out that Xiaomi indeed was working on an e-reader like Amazon Kindle in the past. A prototype of a Xiaomi e-reader was reportedly ready on 2018.

However, Xiaomi has just unveiled their first ebook reader on May 13 and it is called the iReader T6. It is available from iReader.com in China for ¥928 ($135). 

iReader T6 has 6" Carta E-ink screen with a resolution of 1448 x 1072 with frontlight and capacitive touchscreen. Measuring 7.4mm thin, the iReader T6 has a 1500 mAh battery which can last for several weeks. With Freescale imx6 chipset and 8GB storage, which can meet the needs of most users. And it only weighs 160g, lighter than most mobile phones. Built-in 20-level reading lamp can be adjusted at will.

iReader T6 runs iReader UI 2.0 system, which is in line with Chinese people's reading habits. It supports EBK, TXT, UMD, EPUB, PDF, MOBI and other document formats. It also supports functions such as Wi-Fi book transfer, PDF rearrangement, new word book book and other functions.

Most important, iReader T6 is rich in content and has pre-installed book store with hundreds of thousands of books, including comics, magazines and other categories. Its massive fine-tuned books and public books can greatly meet the needs of different users.

In a word, the greatest advantages of iReader T6 is that its pre-installed book store allows you to access to a large number of books. Though the simplicity and usefulness of an electronic reader is the key selling point that has taken Amazon to the top of the market, with Xiaomi as a possible competitor, conditions could change, at least for Chinese customers. 

Suggested Reading: How to Convert Kindle Booksto MOBI/PDF/EPUB?

Download Epubor Ultimate for Free

What’s New about Amazon Fire 7 (2019)

Amazon just launched a new Fire 7 (2019) tablet. Now it’s available for pre-order. But the shipping won’t start until June 6. “The all-new Fire 7 features a faster processor; 2x the storage so you can enjoy even more videos, music, games, and books on-the-go; and hands-free access to Alexa. Fire 7 is still only $49.99 and is available in Black and 3 new colors: Sage, Plum, and Twilight Blue. And, with hands-free access to Alexa on Fire 7, it’s never been easier to get the news, find a recipe, play music, and more,” says Amazon.

What are the new features?

• Twice as much storage
• Better front camera
• New colours

Just as there were only minor differences between the original and 2017 model in terms of hardware, the all-new Fire 7 is basically the same as before, but offers 16- or 32GB of storage rather than 8- or 16GB. There’s still a microSD slot for expanding storage and it now supports up to 512GB cards, rather than 256GB before.

Amazon also says the processor is faster, but it’s still a 1.3GHz quad-core chip, just as the 2017 model had. Oddly, battery life is claimed to be up to 7 hours, whereas the 2017 model offered up to 8.

No change in the screen: that’s still a 7" IPS display and the bezels are just as thick as before. Importantly, Amazon has finally upgraded the front camera so kids can take better selfies and 720p videos, while friends and family will benefit from the improved quality on video calls.

In terms of software, there’s no notable differences. You get the same great set of features as before including hands-free Alexa.

In a word, the new model may look the same as the 2017 version, but it has more storage, a better selfie camera and three new colours to choose between: Twilight Blue, Plum and Sage. If you have no interest in these new features, then I don’t think there’s any convincing reason to buy this Fire 7 model (2019). 

Are Audiobooks the Future of Publishing?

According to Audio Publishers Association’s national annual consumer survey, it reveals that 40% of audiobook listeners agree that audiobooks help them get through more books, and 56% of those who both listen to and read books agree that audiobooks are the preferred format to get through books quickly.

Overdrive, the largest digital distributor for audiobooks and ebooks in the public library, also found that one in three adults listen to audiobooks, spending at least three hours a week listening. Almost a quarter of those who listen do so at seven or more hours a week. This is a huge number and goes to show that people are enamoured with the format. This could be for a few reasons. But one thing for sure is that audiobooks have greatly improved our reading efficiency. There are more and more audiobooks published every year, which means more front-list titles are being converted to audio. More libraries are being sold on audio, and more are carrying a wider selection. 

Audible Inc., the world’s largest producer and distributor of downloadable audiobooks. Audible's content is only accessible through special proprietary closed software, including unauthorized-playback prevention by means of an Amazon user name and password. If you want to liberate Audible books, you can read this guide about how to convert Audible books to MP3.

In a word, Audiobooks are becoming more mainstream, and most of the growth is coming from people using technology to find time in their day to consume more books and gain more knowledge within the shortest time, which can explain why audiobooks are the future of publishing. 

Download Epubor Audible Converter for Free

Audible Introduced a New Hands-free Customer Service Experience on Alexa

Audible Inc., the world’s largest producer and distributor of downloadable audiobooks, introduced a new hands-free customer service experience on Alexa on April 24th, 2019. By saying “Alexa, call Audible”, U.S. customers will be connected directly to a highly-skilled, dedicated expert who can answer questions, resolve technical issues, make Audible book recommendations, and more. The new experience is now available to customers in the United States 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and is entirely hands-free. However, you need to be a registered Alexa Communication user to access this feature. If your device is not already registered, find out how to do it here.

Here’s the Voice Commands for Listening on Alexa Devices. From now on, you can exactly control how to listen to Audible books on Alexa with those voice commands.

If you want to get rid of Audible DRM protection in order to listen to Audible books on any device as you like, you can read this step-by-step guide about how to convert Audible books to MP3.

Download Epubor Audible Converter for Free