ASUS is suddenly all chatty with its plans to enter the e-reader market in 2010. Just yesterday we got word of a 6-inch color (claimed to be OLED by
InGear) e-reader from ASUS by the name of
DR-570 headed to retail before the year is through. Now we've got details of a second ASUS e-reader, dubbed the DR-950 that should arrive sooner. This time we're looking at a 9-inch Sipix panel with 1,024 x 768 pixel resolution pushing 16-levels of gray just like the
Jinke reader unveiled at CES. The touchscreen DR-950 features text-to-speech (based on
Svox engine supporting 26 languages), a web browser that works in portrait or landscape modes, a virtual keyboard and handwriting input, a RSS reader, and dictionary (with expandable database) with real-time translation. Spec-wise, the 222 x 161 x 9-mm / 370-gram reader packs WiFi and HSPA (WiMax is optional) data radios, 3.5-mm headphone jack and stereo speakers, with 4GB of internal memory and SD Card expansion. Supported formats include PDF, TXT, Audible, MP3, and unprotected ePub. Not bad ASUS, not bad. Now let's see some content partners, eh? See it pictured browsing the web after the break.
posted January 18th 2010 7:30AM
Hopefully it's going to be released world-wide and at an aggressive price...sound really good overall.
Finally a sensible design... Bring it on, Asus
2010 - the year of the tablet/e-reader
@Kiwi you know i never really wanted an e-reader until now..with the coverage these things are getting on these sites and ces its making me want one even more now. And i dont even freaking read books lol and i might just start just cause it looks so damn sexy (yes im sad)..i never thought much of the kindle and when i first saw it i thought it was some huge tablet to just browse amazon..but now with more companies making e-readers i think i just might get one..and i think this year we are really gonna see these things become more popular with consumers and make reading cool again lol.
No HDMI out?
:(
do you really need your books read out loud to you in Full 1080P?
Joyous monochrome internet ; )
WHEN?!
Even in black and white its miles above Kindles web browser. Although, if Kindles looked that good whispernet remaining free is doubtful.
The most important thing I see here is the Content management page. It looks like this reader might actually have some form of organization.
I'm still going to wait to see what the next kindle brings. Amazon is going to have to innovate it beyond where it is now. I'm curious to see what they come up with besides the rumor color reader.
very nice, and no stupid keyboard.
I don't understand the screen; is it OLED, or something ... else?
Anyone have the technical expertise to let me know what's goin' on here?
It's a Sipix display. It's similar to e-ink but the buzz is that you can attach a touchscreen without making the display less clear.
@siroh:
Gotcha, thanks.
This looks very good. I currently have a Kindle and if this ereader can get some good content support I'd be very interested in at the very least taking a look at it and considering switching.
@GMUHistorian
Me too. Although I have the K1. So I was looking to upgrade already.
I didn't see any mention of 3G though, which is a must if you want this thing to be useful on the road. And having a decent content store for easy purchasing is HUGE. There are some great site for downloading out-of-copyright books, but often you want something new.
wish I waited for this one.
bring it on=) more different device more choice also price will gona be fall quick
im fine with b&w porn.
;D
Classiest ereader so far.
Slick, but can they do it for under $3 hundy?