Barnes & Noble's Nook e-book reader reviewed, half-baked and not ready for primetime yet

The two biggest tech-heads in the U.S. have just had their hands on Barnes & Noble's Nook e-book reader. Their verdict? It's definitely no Amazon Kindle killer. And in case you were wondering, the tech-heads I'm referring to are the Wall Street Journal's Walt Mossberg and the New York Times's David Pogue. Mossberg says the Nook holds a lot of potential, beneath all of its slowdowns, bugs and crashes, while Pogue pokes fun at B&N for rushing a clearly unfinished product to market. I'll save you the other spoilers and let you read both their reviews on your own accord, just follow the links below.

Source: [WSJ Review, NYT Review]

Amazon delivers PDF upgrade and battery boost for free to Kindle users via software update version 2.3

Amazon has started rolling out over-the-air updates for all models of its Kindle e-book reader offering several improvements including PDF capabilities and an additional 85% of battery life. Amazon's Kindle software update version 2.3 gets delivered automatically and in the background via WhisperNet.

Users of the U.S. Wireless version of the Amazon Kindle can expect the PDF reader upgrade while users of the Amazon Kindle DX will receive some PDF improvements. Meanwhile, the "Global Wireless" version of the Amazon Kindle will enjoy an additional 85% of battery life aside from the PDF upgrade.

Sources: [Amazon, Gearlog]