Upstart company Interead is looking to jump into the ever-expanding library of
e-book readers with its debut, the COOL-ER. Company founder Neil Jones describes it as the "iPod moment that e-readers have been waiting for," calling the device the first of its kind to be designed specifically for the non-technologically inclined reader in mind. Indeed, the aesthetics seems to borrow liberally from the iPod nano, and features eight different color options. It weighs in at 6.3 ounces, or a little less than half of the Kindle 2, with the same 6-inch e-ink screen, and is small enough to fit comfortably in your jacket pocket, he says. It's got 1GB internal memory and a SD card slot, as well as a 2.5mm headphone jack with a 3.5mm converter bundled with every device. The feature set is pretty barebones, with no keyboard, text-to-speech, WiFi, or
Whispernet equivalent -- all files have to be loaded via USB or SD card -- but in its place is a more attractive $250 MSRP, and Jones assures us at that price the company'll be making a profit on each unit sold. Format support includes EPUB, TXT, JPEG, any kind of PDF, MP3 for audio, and eight languages including Russian and traditional / simplified Chinese. The company's also launching an e-book store and offering an extra discount for customers who register their COOL-ER. It'll go on sale May 29th for US and Europe via its website, with retail distribution partner expected to be announced closer to the launch date. We're gonna wait until we get a few chapters into
Alice in Wonderland before giving a final verdict, but in the meantime, check out our initial hands-on in the gallery below.
Read - Product page
Read - Online store
posted May 14th 2009 9:22AM
just because you make it with colorful metal, and slap a circular wheel, doesn't make you Cool....er
At least the "Power" icon inside the screen looks like a sperm :-P....maybe that makes them cooler :-P.
Whoops, click on the picture to enlarge reveals what looks like a "tail" to be actually tiny text that says "off".
Add WiFi and a touchscreen, sell it for $199 and watch em fly off the shelves.
@sweet greggo
Add wifi, touchscreen and the price will already skyrocket. Or the company will not receive profit and will go bankrupt, leaving you with no service.
If its as contrasty as it looks on the pictures and as cheap as $250, its going to be my first e-book! These are the only two things that stopped me from getting one.
Jeez. I don't *want* a touchscreen on my e-reader!
I have an iPod touch, and an Amazon Kindle 2. While touch-screen is handy for what the iPod does, it would be annoying on the Kindle because it would end up getting smudges and fingerprints on the display. I'm trying to READ on my e-reader, and it would drive me absolutely nuts to have smudges on the display. The whole point of the Kindle is to have the book NOT seem like it's on a screen... And it succeeds at that.
To make it a touchscreen, you have to make it glossy (actually cover the e-ink with a glossy screen) and that would simply suck. There are already plenty of people complaining that they got the touchscreen Sony instead of the older model, because it's NOT GOOD FOR READING.
I have yet to come across a decent novel that requires colored ink.
People who want a touch screen, color, and a ton of other capabilities don't want an e-reader; They want a tablet PC. Those already exist! Go get one. Go read your manga on something that is better suited to it.
You can buy wifi dongles for 10 bux now, so how hard can it be to add wifi without making it that more expensive heh, so I agree, add wifi
The only issue is the software though, damn hard to find a decent coder to add the wifi driver/firmware and have it be useful, no idea why it's so hard, but we all know it must be seeing how often stuff is poorly done due to software shortcomings.
@ZeroCorpse
I completely agree! I currently have a KIndle 1 (didn't see any reason to upgrade) and the thing is damn near perfect for what I want to do with it, read books. What about having a touch screen would make it any easier to navigate? Is it really that hard to use the scroll wheel? Ever since the iPhone/iPod Touch came out everybody wants EVERYTHING to be touch this and touch that when in reality it makes very little sense to add touch capabilities to many things. That's not a rag on any touch phone, btw as I do think the technology is wonderful in a phone environment. In an e-book reader however, it just seems pointless.
As for color, I can understand why some would want it for newpapers, but really is there anything else that people would want colored e-ink for? Everything I read on my Kindle is a book and that requires no color at all. Maybe if they get a decent RSS feed reader for reanding Engadget via my kindle I can understand the desire for color e-ink.
On topic: I think these e-books look pretty good. Maybe Amazon should start taking notes because, while I love my Kindle, the thing isn't the prettiest girl at the prom and I definitely would have preferred a black Kindle as opposed to my current white one.
Nice. They should have been building these things years ago for reading books and newspapers.
@ZeroCorpse: I completely agree with you.
Just the other day I was just thinking how I'd really like to get one of these e-book readers but they may still be a bit too expensive for me. Not to mention that I'd also love to have some kind of similar light device that's not a full blown tablet laptop (i.e. it has no keyboard, device is just in one piece... there was some prototype in the news recently however I can't remember it's name...) but allows me, in a similar form factor to use it for light browsing and other light computing needs. That device would need to have WiFi and a color touch screen. At this moment, when e-ink technology is not so widespread getting both devices would simply be too expensive so I'd probably go with a tablet-like one which I'd use even for reading. Too bad because I'd really enjoy having an e-book reader like this one.
I like it. If they could get it to £100, I would buy it.
It will more likely cost about £200 including VAT.
I think it's tempting at the current price. I only wish they didn't try so hard and fail at being cool (I mean they call their colors "Vivid Violet, Cool Pink, Racing Green" and so on). Also does anyone know how fast the refresh rate is?
Why a 2.5mm jack? What possible reason could you have for plugging in a mobile phone headset in there? I'm not terribly hurt at the loss of audio on an ebook reader, but I want to see the 2.5mm jack killed for good.
Yes! There are uses for 2.5mm headsets, I guess, but for the vast, vast, vast majority of cases, and pretty much anything consumer oriented, why oh why wouldn't you use 3.5mm?
What iPod moment?
I doubt that iPods made a market. They just take part in an existing market.
The iPod moment likely refers to the introduction of the iPod to the small and young mp3 player market. Before the iPod, the only large-capacity player was the Creative Nomad. Apple came in with a simple and pretty device at just the right time and it was huge. Some would even argue that it saved the company.
And no, I'm not some Apple fanboy. I actually disliked the only iPod that I ever bothered owning. But that doesn't mean I don't appreciate what the iPod did for the mp3 player market.
I would hardly consider that a moment, but I think you are right. about the reference.
I think he meant that when you first see it, you spend a moment thinking 'What the heck is this? Some kind of bloated iPod?'
Although this price is nicer, it's still about same as 20 expensive books. When I can buy one for the price of 5 books, I'll give it some serious though.
Thats a ridiculous comment. I think you'd have to be socially numb to have totally missed the cultural significance of the creation of the iPod. An entire generation are more bothered about getting an iPod than any other MP3 player. Whatever anti-establishment view you may have is fair enough, and it doesn't HAVE to be your favorite brand, but to deny the fact that it is probably the most significant musical invention of the 21st century is plain ignorant.
... never mind the fact that you've got an icon ripped from the style of an iPod ad....
@Watchface
Mostly because they don't know of the existence of any other mp3 players, Apple may have brought the mp3 player to the mass market but now the majority of their lineup is under performing, over priced with a sub-par feature list. However what they lack in features/quality/price they make up for in advertising, they're probably one of the few/only mp3 makers to actually produce TV ads whereas most other makers either don't or only do tiny amounts of advertising around poster campaigns or something.
Add on top of that, that most people have bought a few songs from iTunes and don't wish to lose their music to switch to another player and you have a generation with the mindset that "This is the only player that exists, and all my music is specifically for this player so I won't bother looking for the hundreds of better alternatives", a pretty good business model (if a little anti-competitive).
@Watchface
I have an iPod Touch. It's an awesome player, but its not revolutionary in any way. My point is that I don't think that the iPod has revolutionized the market and I think that the pocket digital audioplayer would be just as widely spread now even if there was no iPod. All former walkman and discman owners would switch anyway.
Finally!! Now how do I load Crysis on it?
Convert to .doc and copy to SD?
You'll never hear from these guys again. They're still way too expensive to be attractive to anyone but the most extreme reading enthusiasts, and it most definitely is NOT easier to use than the Kindle because you have to download your own files and load them on through USB. How is that easier than typing the name of an author on your device and clicking on Buy?
Also, these look more like the iPod Mini than the iPod Nano to me.
Most people load music and movies via USB, is a text document really that much of a pain?
These look more like iPod Giga to me...
I think Wifi and 3g on a book reader is overrated (and so are the monthly fees). The complexity of the model is based on the fact that amazon wants to charge you fees for every single "service" they provide.
I'd much rather connect it to my computer, and put my own files on it the way I like it (without the $0.10 fee for a file attachments, screw you amazon).
If these prove to be functional and durable they might be an excellent choice for feild service techs and the like that need to carry around a set of service manuals, diagrams and schematics. A lot cheaper and smaller than a notebook, and hopefully easy to read.
Maybe so in US. But what about the rest of the world? Last time I checked Kindle wasn't available where I live and I'll be perfectly fine without WiFi on my e-book reader. I like the simplicity of this device and if I can easily connect it to my Linux as a USB storage and add files, that would be enough for me.
winner
Fail. I hope Apple sues them and gets nothing out of it.
I really hope those are just mockup screens on there. If the company can't even spell-check their product shots, that doesn't bode well for the overall quality of the product.
"RENDOM"
"MULTI-MEDIA" (I don't think anyone has hyphenated multimedia since 1993)
And i hope the justified text in the e-book is not the device's default way of displaying text. Flush-left, rag-right is much easier to read.
For the "non technology minded" but you need to plug it into a computer to get the ebooks into it. I think the Kindle is actually made for non technology minded individuals as its easier to load books into it.
I really hate to admit that any idea was stolen from Apple, but this thing?
I'd be embarrassed to show it in public. It looks like a KIRF iPod with a glandular disorder.
i really wish consumers and companies focused more on fundtion then form..Id much rather have a device that works perfectly. with these dives your not paying for looks. Its a low rez screen for plain text. how different can it look?
Seriously what the hell should any of you care?
You get to use any text format that you could want, plus the ability to expand the memory as far as you want.
But you dont want one because some douche will think it looks too much like an iPod?
Really?????
Jesus, some of you have just gone off the deep end. You are the frigging consumer! Not the tech fashion police.
Bring it here, I'll buy the damn thing. I'm way too old to give a damn about what the other "kids" think of my purchases.
@Look_Around_You
You perhaps make a valid point; if you don't care what anyone else thinks, you should go ahead and buy it.
However, in my experience, a poorly copied design belies a poorly written interface, which I care about a great deal more.
Also, I think you *do* care what we think. Otherwise, why are you reading (and responding to) these comments?
Finally, it's an interesting belittlement, but I seriously doubt any of us reading this are 'kids'. The people whose opinions concern me are my peers; if they don't respect my technology purchasing decisions, they may not respect me. I know I think less of a fellow geek who buys the bottom-of-the-barrel technology. When you have few factors on which to evaluate a person's competence, you must make use of the visible attributes.
Or maybe I'm just not "too old to give a damn" like you.
"The people whose opinions concern me are my peers; if they don't respect my technology purchasing decisions, they may not respect me. I know I think less of a fellow geek who buys the bottom-of-the-barrel technology. When you have few factors on which to evaluate a person's competence, you must make use of the visible attributes.
Or maybe I'm just not "too old to give a damn" like you."
That is what is known as a child. And if this is how you behave in life, then yes, you are a child in every aspect of the word, as well as your "friends".
Any tool that uses a persons tech purchases as a barometer of their worth is a complete and utter idiot. There is NO gray area with this at all.
I know a man that works as an aerospace engineer. He still uses an old CD player for his music. Now let me compare that to you the gadget master. Self-centered, pompous boy who judges people based on some toy they picked up.
Gee I wonder who is the better person?
You are NO geek.
@Look_Around_You
Whoa, tiger! That's some very angry wording and personal attacks for what was meant to be a relatively placative comment. I'm sorry if I touched a nerve, but I really don't know why this raised your ire so much, it's just a variation on the old "maybe you shouldn't judge a book by it's cover, but you can't read every book in the store" argument.
In truth, I would be tempted to buy this device as well. I've been looking for a inexpensive, feature-simple eReader myself. But one look at this device tells me some very revealing things:
- They can't afford, or don't wish, to create a new, innovative design. They would rather copy. (nothing inherently wrong with that, but...)
- If they aren't willing to invest in physical design, it's unlikely they're investing in reliability and usability.
- I think it safe to assume they're counting on sales from people attracted to a familiar design, implying they don't trust the device to sell on its own merits.
- Some, if not all, consumers may buy this device for just that reason: it looks like something popular that they know.
None of this is absolute, of course. It's all speculation based on looks. But without buying and testing every device manufactured, I must base my decisions on what I know, and often, that is only how it looks. But looks can speak volumes, if carefully considered.
Consider your friend with his CD player - it has obviously passed the tests of time and usability, and that's very admirable. CD's also provide very high fidelity, and his constancy shows a respect for using what works best rather than jumping on the next-best-thing bandwagon. These are all very, very different from the conclusions about someone who buys the device in this article. Consider, for example, if he was using a brand new Hello Kitty MP3 player which provided abysmal sound and was fragile and difficult to use. Would it be legitimate to draw conclusions about his technical prowess from such a choice? Maybe, maybe not. But if it's all you had to go on...
Anyway, it's an interesting discussion, don't you think? Let me know if you'd like to continue it in email. We've cluttered up this article enough, methinks.
jesus fucking christ look_around_you you need to cool off there buddy.
lay off the teen angst.
i like the design of these much more then the Kindle. And the diff colors are pretty cool. I might buy one of these for my mom. her current e-reader is pretty old and clunky.. More products in the market are great.
Being in the UK the Kindle has never really interested me so I could easily live without 3G syncing and I'm not to fussed about WiFi. Would have been nice to have a touchscreen but otherwise I might acctually get this as my 1st e-reader!
If this had wifi and not such a painfully kirf-tastic navigation control I'd probably buy one. I bought a Kindle for my girlfriend and we both love it, but I'm not going to spend that much money on another one. Wifi would allow me to order/download books easily but should keep cost low enough.
If this had wifi and not such a painfully kirf-tastic navigation
control I'd probably buy one. I bought a Kindle for my girlfriend and
we both love it, but I'm not going to spend that much money on another
one. Wifi would allow me to order/download books easily but should
keep cost low enough.
this device seems great except it copies the ipod nano way to much. it does look like a giant spoof one.
this is to replace a book, do books have wifi and whisper net? no. do i need wifi on a black and white screen when i could use my phone or laptop? no. do i need to read the paper on it? no. Can i read a book on it? yes. can i easily transfer books to it? yes.
seems good to me, if i was getting an ebook reader i want to read books and pdfs on it i don't want whisper net so amazon can charge me to send my own files to my own device. usb works for everything else so it can work for my ebooks.
if the price is £150 or below i might actually get one, other ebooks are way to expensive.
"iPod moment..."
I guess it is just easier to steal another company's design then pay to have an original one.
Hey, if it aint broke...
The SD card support and landscape mode are nice. I hope that includes SDHC.
Unfortunately, their web site is all flash and no substance. No search, though? Sad panda.
Too bad the thing looks so damn gawdy.