Perhaps JooJoo will be one of those things—you know, like David Hasslehoff or cheese fondue. Big in Europe. Maybe they’ll even sell more than 64? Available to France, Germany and the UK now, for €359.00/£319. [JooJoo via Blogeee] More »

Google’s come forth with a few more details about how their store, called “Google Editions” and now slated for the first half of 2010, will work. It’ll open with a staggering 400,000 to 600,000 books to Amazon’s 330,000 and Sony’s 100,000 (though the latter is supplemented by nearly a million public domain books, courtesy of Google, of all companies). 55% of the fees, which will be set by publishers—Google’s already got 30,000 partnerships in place, evidently—will be skimmed off the top, then given to retail partners. If this sounds weird, that’s because it is—Google Editions isn’t quite like the Kindle store in one major way. From Google ’s Tom Turvey:

Google Editions allows retail partners to sell their books, especially those who haven’t invested in a digital platform,” he said. “We expect the majority (of customers) will go to retail partners not to Google. We are a wholesaler, a book distributor.

Another way it’s not the Kindle store? From the sounds of it—and inline with what he heard before—it’s a browser-based shop:

The books bought from Google, and its partners, would be accessible on any gadget that has a Web browser, including smartphones, netbooks and personal computers and laptops. A book would be accessible offline after the first time it was accessed.

In-browser book buying with Google Gears support sounds like a nice feature to add to a book store, but what about the basics? ePub? PDF? I mean, they’ve got to be planning on including some kind of eBook format support, but they haven’t mentioned any at all.

Perhaps the announcement of a certain Google Android-powered, dual-screen eBook reader would be a good chance to clarify. [AP]

Says the company:

The video report is inaccurate and the individual (who was apparently filmed while attending a trade show was not an authorized Barnes & Noble spokesperson) was misinformed.

We are excited to have Barnes & Noble powering the Plastic Logic e-commerce store. While color is on Plastic Logic’s roadmap, it is not on the map for the Spring of 2010. Plastic Logic has said for quite some time it is working on color, but not for a product in the coming year

So not only was the dude wrong, he might not have even been a Barnes & Noble representative at all. Which is frustrating, sure, but also kind of awesome.

In light of all this drama, let’s take a step back to the innocent days, you know, before the Fall of Rumor. Here’s what we had: Months ago, B&N was tied to Plastic Logic in a fleeting rumor that the two would make an ebook reader together. Since then, B&N has opened their store to others, but fueled the rumor of a branded reader with an FCC filing. Then the WSJ stuck their necks out to say that the reader is coming as early as next month.

Things got interesting when we got a tip from within B&N that the device would run Android, which is a categorically fantastic idea. And finally, an October 20th release date re-materialized, alongside a theory that the reader would allow person-to-person book sharing.

And so now, as then, we sit waiting. Just, a little wiser. [PCPro via Geek]

The WikiReader isn’t a connected device. Instead, Wikipedia comes on an SD card. You can pay $30 to have two updates sent out per year, or freely download a 4GB archive that’s specially tailored to the WikiReader’s screen. Speaking of which, the monochrome screen is touch-enabled and has a virtual keyboard for typed searches. It’s not-backlit, but 2xAAA batteries can power the device for several months.

The WikiReader also seems pretty well constructed. It has a scratch-resistant tempered glass screen, and a plastic case geared for durability. Fun fact: it was designed by Thomas Meyerhoffer, who used to work at Apple, helped design the Chumby, and makes surf boards that look like snowboards.

But here’s the weirdest thing about the WikiReader: it can’t display images, monochrome or otherwise. I get that they want to maximize battery life and keep the SD card updates manageable, but really? That screams fail. [Wikireader via DVICE]

And as you may remember, B&N also has its store on the recently-released iRex reader, and the upcoming grayscale Plastic Logic reader. Oh, and apps for the iPhone and BlackBerry. B&N is the freakin’ Borg of ebooks!

In the video, the rep says Plastic Logic’s color reader will be about the size of a paperback. He says no price has been set, but is solid on that spring arrival. Watch out Amazon and Sony. Especially when there are also color readers from Cool-r and Asus in the works. Good times. Thanks for the tips everyone.

The leak came from someone who (quite convincingly!) claims to work for B&N developing mobile apps—his background knowledge of their app projects was startlingly deep, at any rate—and makes quite a bit of sense as an alternative to the brutally dumb software of current ebook readers.

Think about it. At six inches, it’s a smallish device, and we’ve seen Android on similarly-sized screens already. Wireless connectivity is built into the OS. Extraneous, inappropriate software and settings could be easily stripped out and replaced with relevant ones. A custom-designed interface could be easily dropped in. Apps—oh, sweet apps—could be a huge boon. And hey, E-Ink Android drivers have already been demonstrated on video. Not to mention the fact that B&N has conveniently skirted releasing an Android app, despite putting quite a bit of effort into iPhone and BlackBerry versions of the mobile ebook sofrware.

Simply put, this would be pretty fantastic, and it’s eminently plausible. And from the looks of it, we won’t have to wait long to find out.

The WSJ has sources close to the matter harping on about a pre-holiday release, and that throw a few details out as chum. Remember, this is meant to be distinct from the recently-released IREX reader and forthcoming Plastic Logic units, both of which use B&N’s ebook store:

The device is expected to feature a six-inch screen from digital-paper maker E-Ink Corp. with touch input and a virtual keyboard, like the one used on Apple Inc.’s iPhone. The Barnes & Noble device is expected to also use a wireless connection to download books from the online e-book store that the books retailer unveiled in July, those people said.

A six-inch screen? An onscreen keyboard, huh? That sounds a little like Sony’s pocket readers. There no word on a possible price, hardware partner or carrier relationship, but given that B&N has up until now operated solely in the software sphere, I can’t help but think they’ve got something hidden up their sleeve for their much more secret branded device.

[WSJ via Engadget]