Spring Design Alex starts shipping tomorrow
By Paul Miller 
posted April 13th 2010 9:01PM
posted April 13th 2010 9:01PM
posted April 13th 2010 9:01PM
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Long e-reader is long
@insky No joke, will this thing even fit in my backpack? is there folding or anything? This thing might maket if the chopped the color screen thing off and halved the price, otherwise there is too much out there that's better (for my needs) for less.
@insky
Man, I read it as Dark Alex returns in spring.
@insky
Long schlong?!?
@insky Overprices e-reader is overprices.
overprices = overpriced
@Valicore
I just want them to drop that WinMo 5 lookin' thing at the bottom, release a high res eBook reader.
Then again, I guess we already have tons of those (.... looks at Sony) and they don't exactly fly off the shelves
@insky TL;DR
Looks a bit odd, I wonder how the use of this would be implemented. I wish them best of luck though, more devices = more competition. I hope for a good interface, this would be helpful for us college students and others whom might need this ex: casual and business people.
@Mike Vick
But... It wants to be LOVED....
Wow...that iPad is starting to look like quite a bargain. Sorry, but that's just a buttload of loot.
@Waltah
For an e-ink screen? That's not too bad for all the features it has plus the e-ink screen. If an iPad had e-ink you would be looking at the price of the iPad plus the price of this.
@insky
For a really nice ink look you could also read a friggin newspaper or a book instead. I have to go now because my led display is just killing my eyes.
@Ipadkiller
I remember reading this exact word for word comment on another Eink post. Come on man be creative
@Chewy71
Sorry....I don't. Either way I don't get how lcd/led is just killing people's eyes. I wouldn't go full brightness at night or anything, but it's really not a big deal (to me at least). Eink does look nice for book learnin.
Nookalike....
And lay I think you are losing your mind. I JUST SAID IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH APPLE.
I even mentioned plenty of other phones aside from the iPhone that destroy that crap called the kin
What is so hard to understand about that? The pre, the pixi, the lg envys, rumors, etc etc
These are all phones that are better than the kin.
@TheLondonExchange
Umm...oops.
@insky
It doesn't really matter. He'd have gotten downranked anyway.
@insky
No, he knew what he was doing when he started with "Nookalike"
This is his FIRST post that didn't include "Apple Hater" or apple in some context though.
Meh. Rather get the nook.
Waiting until summer... when it will actually be useful.
I would much rather have an Ipad then any eReader. An eReader is just an extra thing to carry. I could have all my entertainment in one piece of kit on the Ipad.
I know people say LCD kills your eyes, but I spend all day writting and reading on the computer and my eyes never strain.
@MaxL
Have you tried reading the iPAd outside on a decent day? I have one and overhead light of any kind creates a glare-fest of un-equaled magnitude. The iPad has the most glare of anything I've seen. It's like a freakin mirror.
and finger prints!! Holy Smokes!!
@MaxL: do you wear contacts or glasses? because if you do, there's a good chance that at least some of the reason is repeated eye-strain. even if you only think that it's because of genetics.
@cc3d Actually I used mine in direct light and I was surprised I could easily read things on it.
@cc3d
I just covered the iPad with Invisishield. It's so much better with fingerprint problems. You'd had to try pretty hard to get prints on the screen. And it solves the slippery problem with the backside.
Of course, slippage problem + backside + Pad = solved!
The price on this is way off. It should be $150-$200 or else it will fail.
Question is, where's the content? eBook readers are hardly new, yet Amazon's Kindle was the one that propelled the idea, thanks to easy access to the Amazon bookstore (also note Amazon Kindle store is DRMed and not usable outside the Kindle hardware/app). Today, content is the key. Spouting just the hardware won't do much in a crowded market.
Dear engaget
The article you linked to is not a review.
Signed
The Link Nazi
it looks like crap!
I don't understand why anyone would buy this. Want a basic e-reader - Kindle. Want an Apple tablet - iPad. Want a Windows tablet - HP Slate (Wait for it).
This looks horrible.
uh, it's not from Apple! Nothing will sell unless it's from Apple!! Silly Silly Spring Design.
I don't understand why anyone would buy this. Want a basic e-reader - Kindle. Want an Apple tablet - iPad. Want a Windows tablet - HP Slate (Wait for it).
This looks horrible.
@iWannaBeAdored opps, sorry for the double post.
@iWannaBeAdored
What if someone wants something in between the two? This fits in between them in price and features.
If someones wants a device mostly for reading purposes, but also want the ability to get on the internet, listen to music, etc., this would be a good option.
Why not just get the ipad you say? Well, it's $100 more and it does not function as well for reading purposes.
@jeff0529 does this run flash??? just curious...
I thought there was talk of partnerships for this thing that would drive the price way down. Below $200 I think it becomes compelling; well for the next two months until all of the "real" Android tablets start to hit market.
@Riles at 200 bucks I'd be sold on it. I've been wanting to buy one, but I can't stomach the 400 dollar price point. I'd rather spend that on a full blown tablet like the notion ink adam.
I want to read a book at the top and watch a movie at the bottom... Oh wait?
These guys were worried about the nook when that was all the rage. Now they need to worry about the iPad and consider lowering that price.
Everything about this product is wrong. I anticipate 100 sold and then 95 returned because it wasn't what they thought it was.
Well, I'll bet you Barnes & Noble is thinking "There goes the neighborhood."
Then again, probably not.
Somebody may have said this already, but your review link does not link to the review.
If this thing can integrate the Kindle app well, this could be fairly decent. For 100 dollars cheaper.
That's assuming Android has a Kindle app. I don't know if it does.
This device is dead on arrival.
Dying market: grayscale eInk is officially dead outside of Kindle devices. There is no room for a 2nd or a 3rd device.
Idiotic name: First, no one outside of Engadget has ever heard of "Spring Design" company. Secondly, the name "Alex" is really bad. It's just silly branding and a mouthful when pronounced altogether.
Lack of differentiation: Nook (which allegedly stole this dumb dual screen idea) is already available for sale, backed by an actual brick-and-mortar store which has every intention of pushing these things. They try, at least. Who is going to market and push these Alex readers? Bloggers?
Price: In a post-iPad world you better bend the laws of economics and physics and make it a $50 device that people can buy and then discard. $399 almost puts an iPad into your hands. At this price level any talk of superior eInk readability in the sun simply evaporates because that's all this product is good for.
Summary: My advice for Spring Design folks — cut your losses and go back to the drawing board. Or start innovating on a smaller scale. Even Sony with all their resources can't make it in this cutthroat market of slate/reader/pad devices. You're wasting your time.
Still waiting for the Notion Ink Adam...
Here's the actual link to the review:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/03/22/spring-design-alex-review/
@cwastell Good review, but as it was written before the iPad was announced, it loses some of it's relevance. Not that the iPad is an e-reader only, but it's definately an option.
@cwastell Good review, but as it was written before the iPad was announced, it loses some of it's relevance. Not that the iPad is an e-reader only, but it's definitely an option.
Looks like something from the 80s.