EInk -- Engadget

EInk posts

Marvell teams with E Ink for turnkey ereader processor

by Darren Murph posted Nov 3rd 2009 at 11:17AM

And so it begins. If you had any doubts whatsoever that the ereader battle was in full effect, let this introduction take all of that worry away. Marvell and E Ink have tag-teamed in order to announce a "highly integrated" ereader processor that'll be made available in "turnkey platforms" aimed at the booming ebook reader market. The ARMADA package includes a 166E application processor, WiFi, Bluetooth and 3G modem, and more broadly, the two have agreed to cross license epaper "timing controllers and system platforms," which may or may not be the cutest, sweetest thing we've ever heard. The goods are expected to be ready for readers in 2010, which means that buying a Kindle or Nook today is guaranteed to cause you all sorts of pain when the next best thing ships within twelve months.

[Via Internet News]

Samsung shows off color e-paper prototype, PVI might beat it to market in 2010

by Vladislav Savov posted Oct 29th 2009 at 7:55AM

Now here's some yummy news to wrap our minds around. Samsung, a company with a manufacturing portfolio so wide that you wouldn't be surprised to see it selling toothbrushes and perfume, clearly also wants a slice of that growing ebook market and has now unveiled a 10.1-inch color display with that purpose in mind. It's still very early days, with a measly 10:1 contrast ratio and the ability to display only 7% of the NTSC color gamut, but baby steps are better than no steps, right? While Sammy is shooting at delivering this within two years, PVI -- the maker of displays for Kindles and Sony Readers -- is expected to ramp up production of its own color screens in the second half of 2010. Add these two heavyweights to the color e-readers already expected from Plastic Logic (spring 2010) and Bridgestone, and what you get is one hell of a thriving marketplace -- as long as Pixel Qi doesn't render them all useless when it launches later this year.

Read - Samsung Exhibits 10.1-inch Color E-paper
Read - PVI to ramp up flexible and color EPD in 2010

Liquavista's e-reader displays do video, color and other magic tricks (video)

by Darren Murph posted Oct 27th 2009 at 11:40AM

Liquavista's been kicking around in the shadows for years now, and while its stuff has largely been viewed as vaporware, the video waiting for you just past the break changes everything. The company has today revealed three new e-reader display technologies that it's working on, and all three of 'em are in prototype form ready to wow. LiquavistaBright aims to speed up page refreshes on e-book readers and add support for video playback, and considering just how awful web browsing is on existing e-ink displays, we can hardly wait to surf on this stuff. It's also toiling away on a LiquavistaColor screen, which is exactly what you think it is. Finally, there's the elusive LiquavistaVivid, which is planned for "product implementation" throughout 2010 and 2011. Hit the read link if you're down for looking into the future, and be sure to tell PixelQi its main competition has just come out in a big way.

Gallery: Liquavista's e-reader displays do video and color (video)

Continue reading Liquavista's e-reader displays do video, color and other magic tricks (video)

IREX 8.1-inch DR 800SG e-reader now listed at Best Buy for $449

by Darren Murph posted Oct 23rd 2009 at 3:09PM

You know what happens when you realize your $399 price point can't compete with the International Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook at $259? You jack it up by $50 and hope people view it as an ultra-premium product, that's what. IREX's DR 800SG e-book reader, which admittedly comes with a salacious set of specs and features, has just landed on Best Buy's site as promised. The problem? It's $449, and not the $399 that we've been hearing for a little while now. 'Course, Best Buy has been known to inaccurately post MSRPs before the product actually hits the shelves (it's backordered for "one to two weeks" at the moment), so we suppose anything could happen. So, anyone snapping this up? Wait, who let the crickets out?

[Thanks, Tom]

Plastic Logic teases QUE proReader with 8.5 x 11-inch touchscreen

by Paul Miller posted Oct 19th 2009 at 12:01AM

Details are scarce, since the official launch won't happen until January 7 at CES next year, but Plastic Logic is looking to crash into the "pro" segment of the e-reader market (currently mostly occupied by the Kindle DX) with its upcoming QUE proReader. The unit uses E Ink Vizplex tech in a shatterproof display the size of a regular piece of paper at 8.5 x 11-inches, and has 3G wireless capabilities courtesy of AT&T and a business-centric ebook store at QUEreader.com which will be powered by Barnes & Noble. There's also a touchscreen interface, but it's unclear if that covers the entire display, or is something more akin to the leaked photos we've seen of the Barnes & Noble reader. The device is "less than 1/3-inch thick," and can handle PDF, Word, PowerPoint and Excel documents, including tools for "interacting with and managing the content," which sounds beyond the scope of most e-readers on the market currently. We'll have to wait and see how useful the interface really is, and how much damage (if any) that touchscreen sensor does to readability, but a bit of diversification in the ebook space sounds like a good thing on paper. Full PR is after the break.

Continue reading Plastic Logic teases QUE proReader with 8.5 x 11-inch touchscreen

5-inch BeBook Mini now shipping in the US for $199 (hands-on)

by Darren Murph posted Oct 12th 2009 at 3:34PM

We'd heard back in May that Endless Ideas' smallest e-reader yet would begin shipping (presumably in Europe) during the summertime, but it just recently started to make its way onto US doorsteps. Thankfully, our doorstep was among those greeted by the 5-inch reader, which boasts the same specifications as the original BeBook save for the smaller display. Priced at $199, it seemed a lot more competitive before Amazon hacked the price of its Kindle to $259, and given the dearth of WiFi / 3G WWAN, it'll only appeal to those content with hitting up their PC via USB to get new content loaded on. Upon unboxing this cutie, we were struck at just how light and compact the whole unit is, though even with the font at its default size, we had no issues reading the crystal clear e-ink display. Screen refreshes were satisfactorily quick, and menu navigation was a breeze. As an e-reader (and MP3 player, if you wish), it's hard to bang on the pocket-friendly BeBook Mini, but with the Kindle's recent price drop and Sony's $199 Reader Pocket Edition, competition is fierce.

Gallery: 5-inch BeBook Mini now shipping in the US for $199 (hands-on)

Barnes and Noble 'confirms' color Plastic Logic e-book reader for Spring 2010 (video)

by Thomas Ricker posted Oct 9th 2009 at 3:52AM

In no uncertain terms, a Barnes & Noble representative at what looks like the CTIA show says that a color (color!) Plastic Logic e-book reader will launch in Spring 2010. Now, we're not sure if Daniel Joresson is authorized to make announcements about its Plastic Logic partner but he did so nonetheless. The Plastic Logic e-reader will feature a color screen about the size of a paperback and runs the "Barnes & Noble e-book reader application." It's not clear, but it sounds like the B&N application will also be available for cellphones including the iPhone, BlackBerry, and Android devices. Right, similar to the Kindle app. So how does this jibe with rumors about a 6-inch Barnes & Noble e-reader from Plastic Logic launching as early as next month? Easy, the first version will be grayscale while a new model featuring a color display will launch in Spring. In fact, Plastic Logic's own web site says that its color reader is "around the corner" and expects to be "first to market with a large, flexible color display" -- take that Sony and Amazon with your PVI built E Ink-based displays. Watch the flirtatious B&N reveal after the break.

[Thanks, Tom]

Read -- Plastic Logic FAQ (color reader)
Read -- Video

Continue reading Barnes and Noble 'confirms' color Plastic Logic e-book reader for Spring 2010 (video)

iriver Story e-reader hits pre-order status in Korea, gets priced

by Laura June posted Sep 24th 2009 at 2:28PM

We've been keeping our eyes peeled for any news of iriver's Story e-reader -- and it looks like it's on the verge of appearing in reality -- at least in Korea. The company is now taking pre-orders for the 6-inch, QWERTY keyboarded device, which runs 358,000 KRW ( around $290). The reader will come packaged with a 2GB SD card, the book-impersonating folding case we've spied it wearing in the past, and two free book downloads. While we've heard that the reader will eventually get global, we've still yet to heard pricing or release dates for the US of A. Until then, we'll just have to keep curled up on the sofa with our sad, dog-eared, public library copy of The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

iRex DR800SG e-reader brings global 3G downloads -- Best Buy, Barnes & Noble, and Verizon partnerships

by Thomas Ricker posted Sep 23rd 2009 at 1:26AM

Get ready to add another big time e-reader partnership to the list: iRex is set to announce later today a deal that will bring its latest DR800SG E-Ink slab to Best Buy with unlimited Verizon 3G data on board. The $399 e-reader with 8.1-inch touchscreen arrives as rumored with the ability to wirelessly download digital books from Barnes & Noble's e-bookstore in addition to over 1,100 newspapers from Newspapers Direct -- it'll also handle any books downloadable in the ePub format. The 3G goodness comes via a Gobi radio from Qualcomm -- right, that means HSDPA data too, allowing owners to download data while traveling abroad. Take that Kindle. The DR800SG is expected to arrive in US Best Buy stores next month. We'll be going hands-on with it later today where we'll have plenty of pics and the full suite of specs.

Update: iRex has dropped a picture onto its home page. Is that stylus to scale?

[Thanks, Tom]

Bookeen now shipping $280 Cybook Opus e-reader

by Darren Murph posted Sep 23rd 2009 at 12:26AM

We admire Bookeen's resilience here, we really do. After last hearing about this e-book reader in May, we sort of assumed it had just given up on the matter. After all, it's WiFi-less and yet still as pricey as many of its rivals. That said, the Cybook Opus certainly looks different than most every other reader out there, so surely that counts for something. We're not saying it counts for $280, but if you are, you're approximately 1.389 clicks away from having one shipped to your domicile.

[Via GizmoScene]

Gallery: Bookeen now shipping $280 Cybook Opus e-reader

Netronix sneaking 9.7-inch display, hopes and dreams into forthcoming EB900 e-reader

by Darren Murph posted Sep 8th 2009 at 7:12AM

You've just got to admire an outfit like Netronix. Hardly anyone this side of Asia has heard of 'em, and with outfits like Amazon, Sony, Hearst and ASUS doing their darnedest to corner to rapidly expanding e-reader market, you know it has an uphill climb just to get some respect. That said, we're somewhat intrigued by what's on deck for Q1 2010; just a few months after its EB-600 and EB-500 readers were spotted at Computex, the company itself has confessed to having an expansive EB900 in the works. As with the Kindle DX, this bugger is destined to boast a 9.7-inch e-ink display, and you'll also find a 600MHz processor, WinCE 6.0-based operating system, touch support, a handwriting mode, built-in WiFi / Bluetooth / 3G WWAN and a USB socket for connecting to one's PC. The minuscule snapshot you see there to the right is all we've got to go by as far as images are concerned, but you can rest assured we'll be keeping an ear to the ground for more.

[Thanks, Tom]

ASUS planning dual screen Eee Reader: world's cheapest e-book reader

by Darren Murph posted Sep 7th 2009 at 3:03AM

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together? You betcha. After catching an up close and personal glimpse at ASUS' dual panel touchscreen concept at CeBIT this past March, we soon forgot ASUS even had such a beast in the R&D lab. Just over a week ago, however, all those fond memories came rushing back with an off-the-wall rumor that the company just might push out an Eee-book reader later this year. Fast forward to today, and the Times Online has it that such a device is very real, and it should be out and about before the year's end.

According to president Jerry Shen, the Eee Reader will become the planet's cheapest e-book reader, though a premium model could also be launched to satisfy those craving higher-end features -- probably amenities like inbuilt 3G, a web browser and expandable storage. The dual screen form factor would enable users to read books as books were intended to be read, or they could use the secondary panel to surf the web, type on a virtual keyboard or whatever else ASUS dreams up. We're told that the firm is aiming for the £100 ($163) mark on its low-end model, and based on the affordability of its Eee PCs, we'd say it'll probably get awfully close. Hey Kindle, you skeered yet?

[Via BestTabletReview, thanks Rob]

Sony takes Reader openness one step further, will offer EPUB titles only

by Darren Murph posted Aug 13th 2009 at 7:18AM

Slowly but surely, the mega-corp who has historically clung tight to its own formats while the world opts for others is finally seeing the light. Just over a year after Sony pushed out an update that enabled its Reader to use purchased books in the open EPUB format, the outfit is now promising to sell digital books only in that format by the year's end. Moreover, Sony is aiming to nix its "proprietary anti-copying software in favor of technology from the software maker Adobe that restricts how often e-books can be shared or copied." Once the switchover takes place, books purchased in Sony's online store will be readable on any device that supports EPUB, one of which will be Plastic Logic's forthcoming e-reader. And to think -- if only this change of heart would've happened prior to the introduction of ATRAC...

Astak's $199 EZ Reader Pocket PRO wants to give Kindle 'a run for its money'

by Darren Murph posted Aug 7th 2009 at 5:52AM

Last we heard from Astak, it was quietly peddling some off-the-wall Mentor e-book reader based on a drab OEM model that every other no-name reader manufacturer uses. Now, however, it seems the company has a bit more pep in its step (though it's still copying others, this time the BeBook), as it has proudly proclaimed that the new 5-inch EZ Reader Pocket PRO is primed to "give Amazon's Kindle a run for its money." With Adobe's blessing, the device is able to support over 20 open file formats along with DRM-laced PDF files; also of note, a sure-to-be-controversial text-to-speech feature can read back documents aloud. The six-ounce device will be available in a half dozen hues, and within you'll find a 400MHz processor, 512MB of memory, an SD expansion slot, 8-level grayscale E-ink screen, a replaceable battery good for 8,000 page turns per charge and an MP3 player that can operate in the background. Sadly, no wireless connectivity is baked in, but the $199 price point is definitely tantalizing. Anyone looking to get in on a pre-order before it ships later this month?

Samsung jumps into e-book reader game with the SNE-50K

by Laura June posted Jul 27th 2009 at 11:47AM

Samsung's announced it's jumping into the best game in town -- the paperless book trade -- with its SNE-50K e-book reader. With 512MB of onboard storage, a five-inch touchscreen and stylus, and a complete lack of wireless or internet capabilities, it's not the most advanced reader we've ever seen, but it's slim and light, at nine millimeters thick and weighing about 6.5 ounces. In South Korea, where the reader will be launched first, Samsung has partnered with Kyobo Bookstore, one of the largest booksellers in the country. There's no word on launches outside of South Korea at this time, but Samsung does plan on showing a prototypes for other countries at a trade show in January (most likely CES).