Spring Design announces partnership with Borders, lowers price on Alex reader
By Tim Stevens 
posted January 7th 2010 8:52PM
posted January 7th 2010 8:52PM
What do you do when one major book retailer (allegedly) steals your design and makes their own version of it? Why, you go and make a partnership with that major book retailer's major retail competitor, stick out your tongue, and hope for the best! That's what Spring Design seems to have done, signing up with Borders to sell the luscious Alex e-reader that we finally got to play with the other day. Borders will provide retail space for the reader and will create a branded digital book store as well as some "mobile eBook applications" of indeterminate nature. The most interesting part of the announcement? A new price for the device of $359, which makes it exactly 40 dollars more attractive than it was this morning. Full release after the break.
FREMONT, Calif - January 7, 2010 - Spring Design and Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) today announced an agreement in principle to feature the upcoming Borders eBook store powered by Kobo on the new dual display Alex™ eReader later this year. The agreement in principle follows a recent announcement that Borders will launch a new eBook store on Borders.com as well as Borders-branded mobile eBook applications, powered by Kobo. The new Borders-branded eBook store will offer more than two million titles.
"The combination of Borders' leadership in the book industry and Spring Design's innovation and experience in consumer electronics will create a world class service for eBook readers," said Dr. Priscilla Lu, chief executive officer of Spring Design. "This partnership delivers one of the critical foundations of our business growth going forward," Lu added.
"Our agreement with Spring Design represents another step in our digital strategy, which continues to focus on offering book lovers-including our more than 35 million Borders Rewards loyalty program members-high quality content on the device of their choosing," said Borders Group Chief Executive Officer Ron Marshall. "We look forward to bringing a world class eBook experience to Alex users."
The Alex eReader will initially be available February 22, 2010 for $359 in the online store at www.springdesign.com.
About Spring Design:
Spring Design Inc., founded in 2006, designs and delivers eReader products to the e-book market. Its Alex is the first eBook with full function browser on Android with dual screen, interactive multi-media eReader. It offers a hyper link publishing tool, "Link Notes" that links eBook text to related video, audio, notes or web addresses. Spring Design Inc. is located in Fremont, California with engineering offices in Taiwan and China. Spring Design's innovative patented technologies incorporate the seamless interaction of dual display and multi-online access in a single device, benefiting and leveraging the technology and resources of the Web to enhance the reading experience. For more information please see www.springdesign.com .
About Borders Group:
Headquartered in Ann Arbor, Mich., Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP) is a leading specialty retailer of books as well as other educational and entertainment items. The company employs approximately 25,000 throughout the U.S., primarily in its Borders(R) and Waldenbooks(R) stores. Online shopping is offered through borders.com. Find author interviews and vibrant discussions of the products we and our customers are passionate about online at facebook.com/borders, twitter.com/borders and youtube.com/bordersmedia. For more information about the company, visit borders.com/media.
About Kobo, Inc.:
Kobo is a global eReading service backed by majority shareholder Indigo Books & Music, Borders Group, REDgroup Retail, and Cheung Kong Holdings. Kobo believes consumers should be able to read any book on any device. With a catalog of over two million eBooks, and an open platform, Kobo enables retailers, device manufacturers and mobile operators to bring the joy of eReading to customers everywhere. For more information, visit www.kobobooks.com.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
So not only is it ugly, its expensive too? Other than a few android fans who will want to play with this sucker, I'm not predicting a lot of sales.
@krizoitz
I wouldn't say it's ugly: it's just simplistic, like pretty much every other reader out there.
@krizoitz
Ugly ???? It's way more good looking than Kindle with 50 buttons on the face. And the browser functionality is something really important for people like me who read a lot white papers on the web.
At the price of a Nook, it'd be a killer eReader, but even at $300, most people would prefer this to a nook. I hope a Kindle DX killer (or one with magazine sized display) with browser is on the horizon.
@krizoitz - Except it's FAR better than a Nook and more functional than a Kindle. I just wish it could use the Kindle store, they currently have the best selection of books at the best price. Of course, Borders doesn't have their store yet, but this late in the game I can't see them suddenly being as good as Amazon.
Its ugliness has nothing to do with simplicity, and everything to do with irregularity. Look at the edges. There is more border above the top than the sides, the buttons don't line up with the bottom screen, and the middle button is closer towards the bottom screen than the top one. The nook looks better because elements line up.
And no, most people WON'T buy it just because it can theoretically do more. Most people want an ebook reader. Most people don't care about all the "open source" stuff that Spring is adding. Gadget nerds like the people on this blog might, but we aren't MOST people.
@krizoitz I agree with you. Say what you like about the nook and Kindle; but, in their case, form follows function. This thing looks like someone took a smartphone and glued it onto an ebook reader.
@krizoitz
it is ugly. i still love my kindle. the screen below on this reader is a bit distracting to the eye while reading. i don't know why they keep introducing a second screen - this is not a NDS.
@sarahdg
I have a nook (got it for Christmas!) and love the design. The screen is actually really useful, and it sleeps really quickly so when you are reading it doesn't distract at all. I prefer the design to the Kindle actually, because the screen offers wider functioanlity than the dedicated keyboard. I always thought a keyboard on the Kindle was an odd choice since the primary purpose of the device is reading, not writing. The touchscreen keyboard on the nook is great when you need it, but since its not there when you don't its less wasted space. Plus the touchscreen eliminates the need for extra buttons for navigation that the kindle uses.
Springs problem isn't the second display per se, its just that they must be a bunch of engineers with no UI person to reign them in.
360 bucks is still WAAAY too much. I can't justify that JUST so I can get rid of the book clutter I don't really even have. The fact that you can buy either of the 3 game systems for less than this isn't help either.
it might be worth the price tag, if it comes with a lifetime supply of unlimited free book downloads.
Does this have a Whispernet equivalent? If not, this thing is priced WAAAAAY out of the market. At least if it had anywhere data, you could write it off as having to pay for the extra data many users would consume with web browsing, app downloading, etc.
@BigJayDogg3
Just to cover all bases, this is $100 more than (what I would think would be) an equivalent Kindle or nook. So yeah, they priced themselves out of the market.
@BigJayDogg3
Your all pretty much right when it comes to it's design....
Buuuuuut....... It's wifi,3G,Android...WOW!!! That alone opens a bucket load of possibilities and lower screen (touch screen) is a brouser, microSD card slot,Faster load than nook(nook does look hot.)
Find article online and then display it in eink. Cool.
Check out the specs.
Alex...So much more for $359.
Nook... much less for a ereader$249.(which is fine)
Nook and me at hello...Glad I fished around, for me it's Alex or maybe Azus....Maybe!
And yet for some reason the kindle is still the number one seller on amazon. Must be doing something right, which will lead to everyone wanting to copy it..
They need to get oprah on board though, that's why the kindle sold so many!
DO NOT WANT!!!!!*
*= unless it was over $100 less than it is now
$40 doesn't count as a discount. THis needs to be under $300.
...Doesn't Amazon run the Borders online store?
(cue conspiracy music)
@Batlacit They broke up 2-3 years ago.
well that was quick.... but it's still $60 too much.
For me to top price for an e-reader hovers around the €140 (maybe close to 200 if I'm in a very good and jolly mood), and I'd consider paying extra for an extra colorscreen on it but only if the colorscreen had lots of functionality, not just as a presentation of bookcovers and ads.
Oh and any e-reader would have to support pdf and common text formats, and without having to convert them (especially through some site/email). And when I say support pdf that does include some basic zooming, although I get you can't scrollzoom on e-paper smoothly.
WiFi would make me pay upto 40 more if I felt I wanted that.
And it must have an external SD card slot (or microSD).
PDF support would also include rotating it 90 degrees of course.
And it should have a mini USB port.
@Wwhat I think your post highlights some of the challenges of the e-book reader market. People who are into tech want lots of functionality for a low price because we have become accustomed to it. Additionally, tech savvy users have experience with various types of screen technologies which are way faster than e-ink(not to mention bright colors). But, I think it would be a mistake it e-book reader sellers try to add features and options at the expense of simplicity and that gorgeous paper-like e-ink screen.
Well that's true but my list are basic reading-only features really, pdf+zoom, SD card, that's basic stuff, wifi is cheap and small nowadays and would allow easy access, but I listed that as an extra, and I only mention secondary color displays because they are on many devices, like the one of this article.
But yeah you expect low cost because you can get a lot for not that much money, it sets the bar, it's a bit awkward to lay down $400 for an e-reader while standing in a shop full of large full color HD monitors that cost half, makes you feel foolish somehow.
And somehow the lack of color in e-readers, although not a huge issue for reading novels and expected still does make it FEEL like you should expect a lower price, humans will be humans.
It's very odd how that works, I've paid $300 for stuff without blinking while other stuff makes me feel unsure when paying $50 for it, it has a lot to do with psychology.
Lately I'm in a shift towards that in respect to computers, I used to be much more happier to spend a lot of money on a new computer than I am nowadays, they have less thrill and more association with annoyance for me.
Sorry, still too expensive. If it hits $299 I'd think about it... maybe.
And probably more importantly for Spring Designs, they will now have the backing of Borders' legal teams.
Generic looking and overpriced. Not a good combo.
Wow, technology advances so fast. 10% off every 12 hours is amazing. We should be hitting that $150 sweet spot in about ... ummm... does the alex come with an e-ink calculator?
How long before this gets the barnes and noble crack. If android based, and the hardware is similar, it appears possible
I think this is a great device. It has so many more features than the Nook and Kindle.
It is hard to tell from the pictures, but having only a single Page Forward and Page Back button is a huge usability issue. I am a happy Nook owner and the usability research that they put into that piece of hardware is incredible. not to mention the Mico SD slot, WiFi and mini-USB port. I also agree that this is just a bit too pricey. On the positive side, the more E-readers that support E-Pub the better. Hopefully they will force Amazon to abandon their proprietary format.
For the person that mentioned how distracting the bottom screen is, if this is like the nook, it blanks after a certain period of non-use to preserve the battery and reduce the distraction.
My impressions are mixed. I don't agree with critics of the form factor as an e-book. If I wanted an e-book primarily, the compromise seems good to me, especially since I also want a mobile internet device. The biggest drawback, compared with other e-books, seems to be the absence of a wireless carrier. Can I download books anywhere, with the wireless cost included in the price of the book, or not? As an e-book reader alone, the device can't compete with the Kindle or the Nook without this feature.
But I don't want an e-book reader primarily. I want a mobile internet device, a tablet with a screen larger than an IPhone. I don't want a phone that browses the web occasionally. I want a fully functional, mobile web browser that makes phone calls occasionally. The Archos 5/7 has the right form factor, but I read that it's buggy, and it doesn't have a multi-touch display. Cellular radio doesn't matter to me at this point. If I want a contract, I'll get a MiFi.
So I don't see this device as an e-book. I see it as a mobile internet device with an e-ink display to save the battery. I browse 'til I'm ready to read for a while, then I copy a page (or several) to the e-ink display and power off the LCD. The device is also functional as a conventional e-book reader, but that's gravy. It seems more functional as a conventional e-book reader than as a MID, because of the large, ungainly form factor, and that's not gravy.
But I kind of like it anyway, and I want an android device to explore the development potential. It might find a niche as a MID/document reader in commercial applications. For that purpose, an open architecture and developer support is important, and SD seems to be pushing in this direction. They're fighting an uphill battle for sure, but MIDs are coming fast, and we're still in the first inning of the game.