ASUS planning an 8-inch grayscale LCD e-reader for October, pricing expected 'under $599'
By Vlad Savov 
posted August 6th 2010 5:44PM
posted August 6th 2010 5:44PM
Unless ASUS means "$400 under $599," we've got a feeling this e-reading device might as well not try its luck on the market. Nevertheless, word from Taiwan is that the company is indeed preparing an 8-inch LCD-based ebook reader -- with 64 levels of gray, no backlight, and fast refresh times -- to take on the E Ink-powered incumbents this October. Sounds very much like the Eee Tablet to us, but the headline feature of handwriting recognition isn't mentioned, so this could be the same or a slightly different device. A saving grace for this spendy slate may be ASUS' current negotiations for mobile carrier subsidies, which may prevent users from ever having to (directly) clash with that exorbitant price. That also suggests this 8-incher will have 3G connectivity on board, which might make it an appealing straddler of categories if it manages to accessorize itself with a robust web browser and healthy battery life. Let's wait and see, eh?
Um...for that price, they should keep it as a concept in the R&D engineering rooms...
Minus the productivity, versatility and intuitiveness of the iPad (and for ~$100 more).
Also, you're a bigoted asshole.
WTF?
@kapanak I hope this is a typo and real price is "under $59.9"
@kapanak
$599 for a greyscale .... hmm ..right ... you truly show your ASsonUS
@grummy What the hell are you trying to say?
A bit too expensive me thinks
@MoonWalkerCTE
It doesn't make sense, the 10" & 12" tablets they are supposed to release next year are supposed to be priced $399 & $499
$600 on a dedicated e-reader. Sounds good to me.
/s
so it will be $598.99?
@One Love Exactly what I was thinking. I hate when I see a commercial or ad saying " under 200 dollars" and it's 199.99 then after tax and/ or shipping it's very much over that price.
@One Love Remember the original Eee PC? This e-reader will be $1200.
@One Love
No, 599.989 (rounded up)
Ahem . . . what are they thinking? Six hundred bucks?? LOL
What I would like to see from ASUS is the Tablet equivalent of the Eee PC 701 -- running Android. And, for under $300, of course.
Anything else is just, well, funny.
If it works in the sun, has a long battery life and Bluetooth keyboard support, I want one. I need a replacement for my trusty Dana.
@Hieronymous
Aside from bluetooth support, there is already a HUGE market of very nice e-ink readers out there, with great battery and sun-friendly screens. I cannot fathom what you need a BT keyboard for with an e-reader...
@Madcat, For writing.
@Hieronymous So you need a laptop?
@marsmissions
I really wish it was that simple. It needs a screen that works in sunlight, and a battery that lasts 30 hours. The Dana was perfect except the screen was too small.
@Hieronymous 30 Hours? In the sun? What are you doing with this thing exactly. And you want to spend $599 on this thing if it supports a bluetooth keyboard. Honestly just charge it every night most ereaders/tablets will outlast your motivation to work.
That better be a typo... Maybe it's under $59.
@Senatorpaulo
doubtful
@Senatorpaulo I would consider buying even if it was under $99.9
64 levels of gray ...
... but no Grey Goose in sight.
@Meekermoloko
64 levels of gray, for the ultimate monochrome experience!
599 Taiwanese Dollars, maybe? That'd be too low. Chinese Yuan? Maybe...
Fail.
Hey, ASUS and also all you other ereader manufacturers flooding and leaving the market faster than we keep up with, here's some free advice.
Make an 8.5" x 11" reader. E-ink, B&W LCD, whatever. Forget about all the bells and whistles like 3G, Wifi, BT, touch screen, etc. Make it do the one thing it's supposed to do, read documents, really well. Give it a decent, replaceable battery and allow it to continue to function as a reader while charging from its USB port. Give it expandable SD storage. Sell it for under $300, hopefully even less. Market it to businesses as an effective way to go paperless, so their employees could keep libraries of information with them at all times. Did I mention 8.5 x 11, the standard size for almost all business documents and technical books? Pretty sure I did. Do that. Make it affordable, i.e half the price of an iPad or less. Sell it. Go build Scrooge-McDuck-style money vault.
@SemisolidSnake
That thing would have to be EXTREMELY light or it would be very unwieldy. Also realize that the cheaper ones have manual buttons since they lack touchscreens, so it would be bigger than 8.5x11. It would be like holding a 15" monitor.
Unless this is some new tech with something more to offer than the tale currently implies it is insane.
Who the hell wants a grey scale lcd with no back-light !?
What is the marketing - "It's true you can't see it with the lights low in the room - but happily if you turn them up you get tons of glare!"
yay !!!!!!
This Changes... Nothing!
64 different levels of gray? Isn't 65 better?
Isn't the picture of the DR-950 which was announced ages ago and should have been released by now according to the original release date. Although the DR-950 is a 9inch display as far as I know.
@petebob796 Ooops mis-read that its an LCD model I still think that pic is the DR-950 which is SiPix (similar to e-ink).
I read the subject and LOL'ed. Don't even want to read the actual article.
You know you've failed miserably when you're beaten by Apple in value for money,
This is the Asus Eee Tablet: http://armdevices.net/2010/06/01/asus-eee-tablet/
Under $599 ? Let me think ... ipad is $499..
WTF... what are they doing now ??
Say hello to Kin 2
Hello Kitty models to premier at under $699...
I'm sure this is incorrect info. It can't be in US Dollars. There is no way Asus is that foolish.
@OverDriven They all went crazy overnight...
well if it has a USB port you could get one of those USB keyboard lights and plug it in like a ye olde booknightlight
maybe that price suggests pixel qi?!
Just think, all those other companies trying to figure out how to make a COLOR e-reading device are so doing it wrong. What's the next advance in technology ASUS is going to work on, shorter battery life?
I wasn't aware that manufacturers still made grey scale LCDs, why LCD ASUS? I really don't understand.
Somebody in Asus needs to check amazondotcom and read the front page, at least once.
BS. I'm still waiting for the DR-950 which was supposed to be released in June. ASUS = fail.