http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/ Engadget Comments for Pixelar e-Reader reviewed -- not too shabby, also "not a Kindle" http://www.engadget.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.engadget.com en-us Copyright 2012 Weblogs, Inc. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/Mar 5th 2009 7:12PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/Mar 6th 2009 12:28AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/Mar 5th 2009 7:13PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/Mar 5th 2009 8:28PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/
The only thing the Kindle brings to the table is being able to buy books from anywhere. To be honest, do I really need to be able to purchase products at a whim which may take me weeks to consume? Plus I think I'd probably wind up getting my e-books by, ahem, *other* means.

Granted the Kindle isn't as unaffordable as it used to be, so this distinction isn't as important as it was. When the Kindle was $500 and other e-paper readers were $300, that was a different story.]]>Mar 5th 2009 8:38PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/
http://www.jinke.com.cn/Compagesql/English/embedpro/prodetail.asp?id=41


Since Hanlin eReader V3 was on the market for years, I guess Pixelar is a rebranded Hanlin.]]>Mar 5th 2009 7:21PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/The manual cover in the video says "Hanlin V3". I think they forgot rebranding the manual as well.]]>Mar 5th 2009 7:31PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/
Also same as the Aztak EZ Reader sold by Fry's...

:o)]]>Mar 10th 2009 9:15AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/Mar 5th 2009 7:37PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/
http://shop4.frys.com/product/5834633?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

]]>Mar 5th 2009 8:02PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/Mar 5th 2009 7:34PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/
The reader uses standard, generic Nokia phone batteries (which you can buy on Ebay for like $5 or something).]]>Mar 5th 2009 7:42PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/
For the price difference I think I would get the Kindle. I need my Tom and Oprah.

Am I mistaken or weren't they also trying to beat Sony's price?]]>Mar 5th 2009 8:17PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/
$99 please. Its an e-reader not a netbook.]]>Mar 5th 2009 8:19PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/
These are expensive to make, that's why they cost so much.

Sure, it will drop in price as the tech evolves. But your argument is ridiculously dumb. That's like going back to 1985 and saying "$10,000 for a laptop? That's $9,500 too much! It's not a DeLorian, it's a fancy typewriter!" ]]>Mar 5th 2009 8:49PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/
"LOSS LEADER"

Seriously. Microsoft understood this concept when it came to the 360: Sell it cheaper than it costs to make it, and then make your money back on licensing, accessories and software. Same goes for the PS3 and Wii. They get it. You give the hardware away and get the technology (and the proprietary format) out there, then you make your money back.

But with these e-readers, they're trying to make their money back on the cost AND make a profit on the hardware. That's not the way it works. You won't make much if nobody wants to shell out $350 for your device.

A lot of people are saying "I'd get a Kindle if it were under $200" and I'm with them. I still might get one at the higher price, but they'd sell a ton more of them-- and thus a crapload of books and magazine subs-- if they'd take a small loss on the hardware and get it in the hands of eager readers. ]]>Mar 5th 2009 10:41PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/
http://mybebook.com/index.html ]]>Mar 5th 2009 8:26PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/Mar 6th 2009 3:54AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/Mar 5th 2009 11:10PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/Mar 6th 2009 4:48AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/Mar 6th 2009 6:18AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/Mar 6th 2009 6:11AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://wiki.mobileread.com/wiki/E-book_Reader_Matrix]]>Mar 10th 2009 9:18AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/Anyone else remember the days when Eink displays where around the manufacturers said readers would be around the 100$ mark?

These things are priced more than some netbooks more than some PDAs yet they hold less than a quater the computing power and are designed to do 1 or ocationaly 2 things. Display Text and image documents and or MP3 play back... Neather of which is intensive by any means...

The products are simply way to over priced.]]>Mar 6th 2009 8:25AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://eink.com/products/matrix/High_Res.html

From what I am reading, Sony, Amazon, iRex, Hanlin and Aztak all use the eInk Viziplex screens.

I would assume they have a patent on the technology and I would also assume they will be trying to recoup the research costs for the next few years.

With no competition there is no big incentive to lower pricing. It may be a few years before these devices become 'mainstream' and make the $100 price point.]]>Mar 10th 2009 9:50AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/Mar 6th 2009 9:24AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/Why are they so expensive? What is the part that justifies the $300+ pricetag? You can get $30 mp3 players that can display ebooks. Are we to believe that the cost of the screen and display driving circuits are over $250?]]>Mar 6th 2009 10:56AMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/
The screens themselves are specialty screens (eInk) from basically one manufacturer for all of the book readers out there. And the capacity of that manufacturer would be considered rounding error for the big LCD manufacturers.

Then take that total capacity and split it among all the eBook manufacturers (Sony, Amazon, Hanlin, Netronix). They each have custom software and unique hardware configurations. They must recover their design costs across a relatively limited number of units manufactured.

Sony and Amazon do have the ability (if they wish) to cut hardware costs and make it up on the books. However, I really don't want them to do this. It would mean that they would be even more into tieing their devices to their stores and insisting on punitive DRM (as they do today). I'd much rather see them head the other direction to open standards and DRM-free books. Of course, this would suggest that the book readers would need to be profitable on their own merits, and it would keep the cost of the readers somewhat high.

Michael (not you, one of the other ones)]]>Mar 6th 2009 12:34PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/Mar 8th 2009 4:17PMhttp://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/http://www.engadget.com/2009/03/05/pixelar-e-reader-reviewed-not-too-shabby-also-not-a-kindle/
With the free Sprint 3G link inside of the Kindle, if one assumes some monthly value that one is getting for free, the initial price of the Kindle is paid off by it, and the Kindle itself is "free" in 1~3 years depending what one values the Sprint data link at.

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