Spring Design's Alex e-reader gets February 22 release date, $399 price
By Tim Stevens 
posted January 7th 2010 9:27AM
posted January 7th 2010 9:27AM
If you like us were concerned that the Spring Design Alex e-reader would get mired down in legal battles and never find its way into the caressing hands of book lovers everywhere, you're not alone. Thankfully that doesn't seem to be the case, with the company indicating the dual-screen uberbook will be shipping toward the end of next month; February 22 to be precise. That's the good news. The bad? A price of $399, putting it nearly $150 higher than its closest competition at this point, the Nook, and while our brief hands-on time with the device left us with a much better impression than Barnes & Noble's device did when we got to play with it, we're not sure just how many people are going to be willing to pay that much of a premium for it. What say you?
Depends on the data scenario. It kicks the Nook in the balls in every other way.
I wouldn't be able to bring myself to spend any amount of money on a B&W eink reader now that I know full color eink displays are right around the corner.
@jpbeard
if right around the corner = a couple years
@radicalxedward Yeah, I know the rumors are optimistic at best. Damn you CES. I want all of this tech now!
@jpbeard Here here. I agree completely. My only question is are they really actually waiting until the BW market bottoms out so that they can double dip on the customers?
weren't they supposed to have a model without the bottom lcd that was aimed at the $100 pricepoint?
@radicalxedward This was supposed to be it. Spring Design and Marvell had been talking about how much cheaper E-Readers would be using the new Marvell chips instead of two separate processors. So much for that. Maybe they meant in their 2nd gen E-Readers.
@tristanfey
no they have a smaller one without the bottom LCD, they showed it on tekzilla a couple weeks back and it's supposed to be in the $100 range while this is supposed to be the higher end one (as far as b&w stuff goes anyway)
Well, it does have a FULL web browser, and is capable of rendering ANY page in the ereader.... so yeah I'd say it's worth $100 more... but not $150 more, IMO.
I'm not sure some developers understand why people use e-Books. Its a replacement for a book. I don't want to hold a mini PC in my hands that I have to recharge constantly. I don't want weight, bulk, etc. Yet at CES I see lots of ereaders that are truly small PC's vs. actual ebook readers. I *do* see value in COLOR ereaders, absolutely, but if it has a reflective screen that requires a specific viewing angle and short battery life - its not an ereader.
@aph3x
well said
@aph3x Exactly. If they are marketing this as an e-reader, then it's a disaster. Sure the nook might be a bit rough around the edges software wise (although the 1.1.1 up date has helped) it's form factor is just about perfect. The balance is good and the clean look mimics a real book very well. The LCD is kept small for a reason, it use is limited to shopping and navigating menus. Most of the time its OFF, because you're reading!
The Spring Design device can't seem to make up it's mind. Is it a table or an e-reader? The page turn buttons look horrendous. I hope that ON/OFF button has a confirmation after its pressed. It doesn't look like you can use it to read a book with one hand. Too many problems with this device. I don't know why Engadget is saying this device gives a better impression. Just because you can surf the web and it has a larger LCD screen? yawn.
@petteri
Really well said OP.
I agree, but I think there could be great uses for a more powerful device like this in some areas like academia. I was reading the source link and I do think this is a compelling argument for a niche consumer bases: "...serious students who can view videos of science experiments online on the LCD screen while reading textbooks on the EPD screen.”
that color display on the bottom makes me think ADS are gonna be beamed onto that constantly.
/pukes
Right now I am liking the skiff reader I really like the size and can for go the color bottom screen for a great looking reader. Just hope the cost will be more inline then the Alex reader.
I say NO WAY. Far too expensive, and I really was interested in this one. If they had it at $299 I'd think about it... maybe. But $399 is just way, way too much - I'd rather buy a netbook.
There will always be something better right around the corner.
Nope. $400 is too much for an e-reader. I guess I'll be giving the Nook a second look.
What's the specs? 3G? Wifi? $399 seems excessive for the additional screen, we'll have to see...but I'd like to see it closer to $300.
12 comments in, and not one "but,but, my ______phone can do that"? wow.
Going to wait for the competition to fight it out, and eventually make the average price for an e-reader around $200~. That is personally the price I'm willing to pay for this. If it is anything like the netbook market, the specs will get better in the products and the prices will lower then idle around the $200-250 range.
does it make phone calls?
It doesn't have a cellular radio.....Le Pass.
Looking at things like this makes me think we are headed for a collapse of the gadget market. I feel oversaturated with useless crap.
By the way why does Chrome say oversaturate is the correct spelling but oversaturated is not. Chrome says it should be over saturated for past tense and oversaturate for present.
Decent eReader and the LCD with browser support is a great thing. Those of you complaining should understand that you can turn the LCD off so that there is no power drain.
For people like me who read a lot of web pages, this is really useful as I can read the morning newspaper on the breakfast table without straining my eyes on an LCD screen.
For $250-300, it'd have been a true Nook killer but at $400, it probably has shot itself. At this price it'll have a similar like Joo Joo.
@Rex
"similar *fate* like Joo Joo"
What a monstrosity :) I bet 5 years later we'll be laughing at this Frankenstein of the devices that failed.
I believe that perfect eBook should fit in my pocket so I can carry it with me everywhere (bathroom, doctor's office, etc.). Ipod touch is perfect for that except battery doesn't last as long...
@(Unverified) iPod Touch is still too big. The perfect eBook reader would have a display such that you would only be able to display one word at a time. :P
If it comes with free 3g i might just have to say anything with the word slate in it be d***ed im in for 1
The price point is way too high. The nook seems to be a purchase that is manageable and still leaves you the techy goodness of having a tiny little screen. This is a bit overkill. Although can you straight download ebooks to the kindle or nook without a proprietary format or computer involved? That might be where this takes hold.
HAHAHAhAHAHAHHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
$399? For an e-reader? Please, don't make me laugh again.
:)
Just so that I understand this right, they put the POWER button adjacent to the next page button. It's every masochist's dream.
I could understand $300, but at that price no one will spend that much money especially considering they are a pretty unknown company.
$399? hahaha... Spring Design marketing team needs to go do more market research... how many geeks are willing to shell out $399 for an ebook reader? I suspect the number is very very small.
This is clearly a case of a company with too many engineers running amuck and not enough business savy at the helm. It reflects very poorly about the people in charge of this company.
way too expensive. :(
looks really bad too
The idea of having a Kindle equivalent in addition to a viable web browser where I can transfer any web screen content to the e-ink screen, and pay the exact same price as I paid for my Kindle 1 is, to me, definitely a good deal. Carrying one of these around certainly beats carrying both a netbook and an e-reader with me every where I go. And yes I know people will be able to read e-books on netbook screens, but once you get used to reading from an e-ink page it's hard to go back.
There are so many eReaders being announced. I have a query:
Who's buying these things?
Now before you jump on me I'm not talking eReaders in general, rather these little models from every company under the sun.
I know the Kindle is huge, I know the Nook is getting bigger, and that the Sony is pretty decent, and Fictionwise has its iPhone / 1150 reader to itself.
But aside from the big players, what's the market for all of these little readers that don't have a store integration or the general public isn't even aware of?
@Daphoid .. Good question. Amazon has its Kindle, Barnes & Noble has its Nook (B&N will also sell the Que for periodicals), and Border's has Spring Design's Alex. That pretty much covers the major book suppliers here in the states. If I understand correctly, all these other e-readers are pretty much relying on sources such as Google Books that are also available to the Big Four. As I see it, this gives Kindle, Nook, Alex, and Que a leg up on the others. It would seem that these outliers will have to rely primarily on budget price. It'll be interesting to watch how this all pans out.
I think with the price drop to $359 and the great reviews this may be the "iPad" for the eInk crowd. More discussion on the Alex at these forums/blog ->
http://thealexereader.com/